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Many streaming services have already created profiles for kids to use, and now Google has entered the foray with one that is built for its various devices. This comes after many parents have asked for a service like this so that their kids can use technology in a positive manner. The new mode is known as the “Google Kids Space”, and will appear on Android tablets and select phones soon. Eventually, the tech giant plans to include the Google Kids Space on additional devices as well. This new mode will give kids an easy place to consume videos, read books, and use apps on its platforms.
The official website for the new product maintains that it is “designed with kids’ curiosity in mind” while it provides youngsters an “experience with content to help kids discover, create, and grow.” This new space is meant for kids younger than nine years of age, and will included personalized content from each child who uses it. Google has also asserted that there will be no targeted ads from this initiative aimed at these young users.
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Amazon has already built a feature on its products that is similar to the Google initiative called FreeTime. FreeTime allows parents to control the content their children are exposed to on Amazon devices. Google’s new venture is a step further as it will embrace all content consumed on the popular Android devices and is part of a larger process used by the company.
The company knows that brand loyalty can go a long way and hooking both parents and children on their products can lead to years of devout consumer loyalty. It also knows that many children are spending more time at home outside of the classroom in home learning environments because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The timing for the release of the service coincides with the start of a new school year in late August and early September. Finally, the company does not see the service as a replacement for remote learning, but rather a way for kids to engage in fun activities in their free time after school.
Google began introducing family friendly services when it launched Family Link, a service that is now built into Android devices. Family Link gives parents the opportunity to limit the amount of screen time for their child, allows filters on content, and also adds a number of privacy features. Google also has added a Kids tab in its popular Google Play store. This tab gives teachers across the world a chance to approve specific apps and games for children to use on their devices.
Kids Space amplifies the progress to help parents curate content for their children by emphasizing certain books for free with a “read” tab. There are also “watch” and “make” tabs available to children in the Kids Space. Google has used content from its YouTube Kids channels to push them to this space and also encourage children to engage in productive, positive activities outside of the app.
These various new features are an effort by the tech giant to appeal to both parents and a younger audience. Since Google offers many other products besides physical devices, this is also a way to convince this new audience into heavier usage of the rest of their significantly popular ecosystems, such as Google Docs, Sheets, Gmail, Chrome, Chromecast, Meet, Home, Nest, and much more.
Amazon’s FreeTime is a bit different than this new Google offering, as it is seen as a subscription based solution for parents that does work across Amazon platforms like the Fire tablets and Echo speakers and also devices that use Android and iOS. The Google Kids Space is specifically made for Android devices.
The company has received a fair amount of controversy for its policies in the past that impacted children. Just a year ago, the company was fined more than $170 million for its inability to protect children’s data. Furthermore, several students have sued Google over its Classroom feature, which is the company’s foray into the remote learning space. Kids Space is certainly the company’s latest attempt to move away from all of this negative criticism and appeal to families.
Overall, Google is currently in the first stage of the release of this new product, which now will only be present on the Lenovo Tab M10 HD Gen 2. The tech giant worked closely with Lenovo to make the new system easy to use and already loaded with the device upon purchase. Keep an eye out for further news on other devices adding Kids Space to their platforms in the near future as the company rolls it out fully in the coming months.
