Last year YouTube launched YouTube Kids, a child-friendly version of their popular video viewing/sharing app. It had some issues along the way, including content filtering, advertising to children, and some technical hicups. However, it seems most of these things have been ironed out, and the app is now available for parents in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. It's a free download on both the Google Play Store, and the Apple App Store.

It features specific channels and shows, and after an hour with the app, it seems that Google is making good on most of their promises for this. Offensive content was filtered out in all the tests I did, and searches for things like "50 Shades of Grey trailer" returned a simple, "Oops. Maybe you want to search for something else." Suggested videos were very child-friendly, and the interface is fairly solid. Very small children will still need some help, but most toddlers will find their way to their favourite shows and songs without issue. Google stated that in the US launch, the app was downloaded over 10 million times, and "Wheels on the bus" has been watched more than "Gangnam Style," if such a thing is even possible.

The app also includes a password-protected family timer, so you can limit how long kids can watch too. All in all, it's a solid and welcome addition to the lineup of Google's services. However, despite the suggested age range of 1-13, I doubt any kid over 10 would be caught dead using the app.

- MVW