Yahoo Movies YouTube to launch supervised accounts for kids under 13 years old
Parents concerned over what their child watches on YouTube will have a new option to supervise what videos they watch.
YouTube will launch a new setting that allows children under the age of 13 to access the platform through a supervised Google account set up by their parents.
The beta version will launch in the coming months, according to YouTube.
The tool has three settings with different degrees of restrictions. The most restrictive mode, called "Explore", is for children over the age of nine and ready to transfer from YouTube Kids to the regular website. This setting allows children to watch vlogs, tutorials, gaming videos, music clips, news, educational content and more.
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The second setting, "Explore More", includes content suitable for teens over the age of 13, and includes live streams in the same categories as the “Explore" mode.
The less restrictive mode, "Most of Youtube," will have most of the videos on YouTube, except for age-restricted content.
"As children grow up, they have insatiable curiosity and need to gain independence and find new ways to learn, create, and belong," said James Beser, Director of Product Management, Kids and Family at YouTube, in a statement. "Over the last year, we've worked with parents and experts across the globe in areas related to child safety, child development, and digital literacy to develop a solution for parents of tweens and teens."
YouTube will mix user input, machine learning and human review to determine which videos are included in the child's feed.
In 2015, YouTube launched YouTube Kids, a separate platform with child-friendly content. The website for kids has three age categories: Preschool, Younger (ages 5-7) and Older (ages 8-12).
Follow Coral Murphy on Twitter @CoralMerfi
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: YouTube launching supervised accounts for kids under 13 years old
