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Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

kidscreen.app

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Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#51

Post by Tintly »

pmarreck wrote: post #13

I, too, am a parent of a toddler who would like more control over what YouTube feeds my kid's brain. It's almost as if YouTube should be the responsible party here, and yet... isn't. I'm on the verge of building my own frontend to YT and using open source tooling to download only what I approve of, since their algo keeps shoving shit en masse at my kid. Oh, and I have no idea what this app does, and don't care to sig…

That is fair criticism. If someone has to register just to understand what the product does, the public page has failed. The short version is: a parent adds exact YouTube URLs, and the child gets a finite shelf with no search or endless feed around the official player. I should make the flow, data boundaries, and limitations public before sign-up.

Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#52

Post by Tintly »

Hugsbox wrote: post #20
pmarreck wrote: post #13

I, too, am a parent of a toddler who would like more control over what YouTube feeds my kid's brain. It's almost as if YouTube should be the responsible party here, and yet... isn't. I'm on the verge of building my own frontend to YT and using open source tooling to download only what I approve of, since their algo keeps shoving shit en masse at my kid. Oh, and I have no idea what this app does, and don't care to sig…

While I agree YouTube Kids is a mess and needs to be better-curated, we as parents are always the responsible party when it comes to what our kids consume.

Agreed. KidScreen does not replace parental responsibility, supervision, or device-level controls. It is a convenience layer that makes a parent-approved shelf easier to maintain and use.

Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#54

Post by Tintly »

michaelmior wrote: post #19
bpodgursky wrote: post #9

Technically, 0 is a finite number. It's also the optimal number of youtube videos for a kid.

While excessive screen time can certainly be a problem and the specific content matters there is nothing inherently wrong with a small amount of age-appropriate YouTube content consumption.

That is my view as well. KidScreen does not prescribe how much a child should watch; it gives the parent control over the exact videos available.

Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#55

Post by Tintly »

nsxwolf wrote: post #8

Friction is the problem with something like this. If my kid grabs my phone, or uses the LG TV Youtube App, or the Apple TV app, or the PlayStation 5, can all of those default to KidScreen? If it can't solve all those, there's absolutely no utility for me. If I were willing to become the kind of authoritarian taskmaster that tightly controls which devices my kids use to watch something at all times, I would already no…

KidScreen cannot become the default inside the native YouTube apps on phones, Apple TV, PlayStation, or other platforms. It works only where the child opens the KidScreen web app in a compatible browser, and the parent still needs device-level controls to restrict other routes to YouTube. It solves a smaller problem than universal device control, so it will not fit every family.

Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#56

Post by [deleted] »

HumblyTossed wrote: post #16
nsxwolf wrote: post #8

Friction is the problem with something like this. If my kid grabs my phone, or uses the LG TV Youtube App, or the Apple TV app, or the PlayStation 5, can all of those default to KidScreen? If it can't solve all those, there's absolutely no utility for me. If I were willing to become the kind of authoritarian taskmaster that tightly controls which devices my kids use to watch something at all times, I would already no…

> If it can't solve all those, there's absolutely no utility for me. To be fair, how the hell is that something an APP can do?

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#57

Post by Tintly »

nsxwolf wrote: post #17
HumblyTossed wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If it can't solve all those, there's absolutely no utility for me. To be fair, how the hell is that something an APP can do?

Yeah that's what I'm saying. So why are we making apps that pretend to do it?

I agree that claiming universal control would be misleading. KidScreen does not intercept other apps or devices; it only controls the shelf inside KidScreen. Whether that narrower model is useful depends on how a family manages the child’s device.

Re: Show HN: KidScreen, a finite YouTube shelf chosen by parents

#60

Post by Tintly »

fudged71 wrote: post #14

Details please.

KidScreen is a free web app: a parent creates child profiles, pastes the exact YouTube links approved for each child, and gives each child separate sign-in details. The child gets a finite shelf containing only those videos, with no search, no endless feed, and no KidScreen algorithm deciding what comes next.
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