YouTube Kids app expands to more smart TVs, Android TV support in the works

YouTube Kids, the children-friendly version of Google’s popular YouTube video app that first launched in early 2015, is about to expand to even more devices. Today, Google said that a number of smart TVs made by Samsung, Sony and LG will add YouTube Kids to their list of supported apps.

YouTube Kids is supposed to offer a design that’s more colorful and brighter than the regular YouTube app, with age-appropriate content on display. Parents can also control what kind of content, and how much, their kids see with the app, including blocking any videos or channels they feel are inappropriate. Today, Google said that since it launched in February 2015, it has generated over 30 billion views and currently gets about 8 million weekly active viewers.

Now YouTube Kids can be downloaded in the 26 countries where the regular app is available on all 2015 – 2017 LG webOS TV models, via the LG content store, along with all 2013 – 2017 Samsung Smart TVs. The app is also available on all of Samsung’s Blu-Ray players from that same time period that have access to the Samsung App Store. Finally, a firmware update on all the 2016-2017 models of Sony’s smart TVs will add access to YouTube Kids, except for those Sony TVs that use Android TV. Google says Android TV support for the app will be released in the future, but it did not offer a specific release date.

Have you downloaded YouTube Kids to let your children watch videos on their device, and if so, how do you like its content and its parental controls? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!