Google is set to overhaul its products with children in mind

Google is a huge company, and its products are everywhere. Children are bound to run into a Google product sooner or later, whether that be Chrome, YouTube, or any others. That’s why they’re planning on revamping a number of their products to be more child-friendly.

In an interview from USA Today, Pavni Diwanji, Vice President of engineering with this project, states the company’s plans to overhaul certain Google apps, specifically YouTube, Chrome, and Search. Diwanji explains:

The big motivator inside the company is everyone is having kids, so there’s a push to change our products to be fun and safe for children. We expect this to be controversial, but the simple truth is kids already have the technology in schools and at home, so the better approach is to simply see to it that the tech is used in a better way.

The services mentioned above will likely incorporate many more parental control options, though a timetable has not yet been set as to when the changes will roll out. The promise of these changes fit well with a previously unconfirmed report back in August that suggested Google was getting ready to open up some of its services to those under the age of 13. Diwanji goes on to say:

We want to be thoughtful about what we do, giving parents the right tools to oversee their kids’ use of our products. We want kids to be safe, but ultimately it’s about helping them be more than just pure consumers of tech, but creators, too.

It is important that Google is taking this step, thanks to added pressure from the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which is set up to protect children’s personal information from being used the wrong way. With this new overhaul, Google believes that they can bring in more younger users without running afoul of the FTC’s regulations. However, this is potentially cause for headaches, as the “kid-friendly” services may come with added barriers when giving information up online.