Google has added managed watchlists to Google TV to offer parents more control over the content that Kid profiles have access to. Google TV is the evolution of Android TV and comes with a greater focus on recommendations, and Google is also looking to improve this aspect through Google-powered recommendations on Kid profiles.
One of the strengths of Google TV is the watchlist which makes it possible to quickly and easily bookmark shows and movies to watch at a later time. In fact, as this is Google, shows and movies can be added to a watchlist on most Android devices. The watchlist then automatically syncs with Google TV-powered devices. A similar ability to auto-sync watchlist additions is also now possible with Kid profiles.
Google has added the ability for parents to add videos to a watchlist for a Kid profile. Google added Kid profiles back in 2021 to provide more of an age-appropriate experience for younger users. As Google explains, the latest change offers parents a quick way to add age-appropriate shows and movies to a specific profile. Furthermore, the parent doesn’t actually need to access the individual profile to do this. Instead, videos can be added to a Kid profile directly from the parent’s Adult profile. Once done, the video will automatically be visible on the home screen’s watchlist when the Kid profile is accessed.
To add a video to a Kid profile from an Adult profile:
- Click on a movie or show
- Press the watchlist button
- Select the specific Kid profile
In addition, Google is also looking to more align the kid Google TV experience with the adult experience. Going forward, these profiles will now see recommended movies and TV shows just like adult Google TV user profiles do. However, the new kid-friendly recommendations will be limited to the apps downloaded on the device, and the rating settings allocated to the individual profile.
To further assist with parental control, a new Hide button has also been added, making it possible to hide a specific title from the newly added Popular movies and Popular TV shows rows where recommendations are generated and shown on Kid profiles.
A final addition is a new transitional feature for YouTube. For homes where younger users are already using YouTube Kids but may have reached an age where the standard YouTube experience might be more appropriate, Google TV now offers a “supervised experience on YouTube.” In other words, the standard YouTube experience can be accessed from a Kid profile but with various tweaks to the content settings, and the ability to block certain channels from being displayed.
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