As parents, it’s almost impossible to keep our youngest tech-savvy members away from YouTube. Young children, in their formative years, easily adapt to the swipe and scroll features of touchscreens. Considering this, YouTube introduced its child-friendly app, YouTube Kids, for Android and iPhone users back in 2015.

Fast forward to recent times, YouTube Kids has undergone a complete overhaul in design for the first time since its inception. The restructured app now bears a stronger resemblance to its parent app, YouTube.

The YouTube Kids community page announced the facelift, stating, “We’re excited to introduce a fresh, modern look to the YouTube Kids mobile app as part of YouTube’s design modernization efforts.”

Let’s delve into the updated YouTube Kids app.

The most noticeable change in the app is its revamped design. Previously, the app bore a childlike appearance, falling far from the tree in terms of design resemblance with YouTube.

The fresh design, however, mirrors YouTube, albeit with a playful twist. It’s more vibrant and visually appealing, yet distinctly preserves the YouTube essence. While the earlier design was more suited for toddlers, the revamped one caters to children of all ages.

In addition to the vibrant aesthetics, the user interface of YouTube Kids has also been modernized to echo that of YouTube. The app now displays video categories at the top of the homepage, much like its parent app. Moreover, the new navigation bar at the bottom of the page is a direct lift from the main YouTube app.

Another significant update is the app’s dual orientation mode – it can now be used both horizontally and vertically, akin to the main YouTube app. This is a departure from the app’s earlier version, which was limited to landscape mode only. With the rising popularity of YouTube Shorts, a vertical viewing mode is a wise addition.

While the redesign is the highlight, other aspects of YouTube Kids remain unchanged. The app continues to be a safe platform for kids to engage with age-appropriate YouTube content. Over the years, YouTube has successfully addressed the content moderation challenges that once haunted the app.

The redesign has garnered mixed reactions, with some users expressing dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, the revamp seems to be a smarter move compared to YouTube’s decision earlier this year to shut down the standalone kids app for smart TVs, integrating it into the main YouTube app instead.

In a nutshell, YouTube Kids’ redesigned app brings an improved user experience with its YouTube-like interface and additional features, ensuring a safe and enjoyable viewing experience for children.