Google has announced "YouTube Kids," a family-friendly version of the Internet's most popular video service. The service takes the form of an Android and iOS app that limits YouTube to hand-picked, kid-friendly channels like Sesame Street, Thomas the Tank Engine, and educational offerings.

The app is broken down into four sections: Shows, Music, Learning, and Explore, which are presented in a horizontal scrolling list. Parents get control over the app with time limits and the ability to lock down the search feature.

The home page is hand-curated, guaranteed-kid-friendly content, but search allows access to more of YouTube, which is filtered automatically. Google warns that this auto filtering might not be 100 percent accurate, so it offers the option to turn off search.

Best of all, there are no YouTube comments! It does show kid-friendly ads, though.























The app is very whimsical. Just about every button tap is accompanied by some kind of musical sound, and on every startup there's a splash screen where the YouTube icon opens like a door and colors come pouring out to the sound of giggling children. When the timer runs out, a big smiley face pops up, yawns, and falls asleep. It's certainly not the "best practices" most app developers would follow, but it is geared toward the little ones.

Oddly, there's no Web interface for YouTube Kids; you'll need a phone or tablet. The app is already up on the Play Store and should hit iOS once it is approved. The company also hints that there's more to come, saying, "This is just our first step—we’ll keep tinkering and hope to have more great products for your family soon."