Frequently asked questions

No. Kidlyoo uses the official YouTube IFrame Player. Videos stream directly from YouTube. We only control which videos your kid can pick from, not the playback itself. This means we never re-host or download YouTube content, and we stay compliant with YouTube's terms.

YouTube Kids relies on Google's algorithm to filter content. Kidlyoo doesn't filter - you curate. You add only the videos you want your kid to see. There's no algorithm, no surprises, no "what is my kid actually watching."

YouTube ads still play because we use YouTube's official player. We can't legally block YouTube's ads. What we do is detect skippable ads and let your kid hit Skip without seeing the surrounding YouTube chrome. For a fully ad-free experience, you'd need a YouTube Premium subscription on the same Google account.

The kiosk and approved apps work offline. Videos don't, because YouTube requires internet. The library is cached so your kid can browse the list and see thumbnails offline, but tapping a video shows an "internet needed" message.

Not yet. Android only at launch. iOS is on our roadmap but the iOS sandbox prevents us from implementing the full kiosk lockdown the same way, so we're still designing the iOS version. To be notified when iOS lands, email support@kidlyoo.com.

Kidlyoo runs on Android tablets. The interface adapts to bigger screens.

Five minutes the first time. After that, you forget about us. The setup wizard walks you through granting four permissions and (optionally) setting Kidlyoo as your Home app. Once done, you don't see those screens again.

We ask for exactly the permissions required to enforce the kiosk. Nothing beyond that. See How it works for the breakdown.

About 0.5 to 1% per hour while a kid is in a session. Outside sessions, essentially none. This is in line with other parental-control apps.

That warning is Android being protective, which is the right default. You should be cautious about granting Accessibility to apps you don't trust. Kidlyoo uses it for one specific job - detecting foreground-app changes for the kiosk Watchdog. We never read screen contents, capture text, or send anything anywhere.

OEMs add their own battery-saving layers on top of Android. Even with the standard battery exemption, these layers can still kill our Watchdog. The setup wizard detects your manufacturer and shows the right step. See the per-OEM setup guides under Help.

Not easily. With Kidlyoo set as your Home app and the Watchdog running, every escape attempt (Home press, swipe-up, notification tap) bounces back to Kidlyoo within a second. What the kid can do is restart the device. After a reboot, the kiosk session ends and Kidlyoo doesn't auto-launch. You have to start the next session intentionally. This is a deliberate Android safety behaviour, not a Kidlyoo limitation.

You can recover via device biometric (if previously enabled), your account password, or an email reset link. So in practice, "I forgot my PIN" is never a dead end.

No. Your account, your data. Watch history is per-account and not shared with anyone, including us, beyond what's needed to make the app work.

No. Kidlyoo doesn't ask for location permission and doesn't collect location data.

Your email and account password (for sign-in), child profile names and avatars you provide, your approved video lists, approved app lists, time-control settings, watch history, and a per-install device UUID. We do not collect location, contacts, microphone, camera, calendar or SMS data. Full details on the privacy page.

Roughly 2 to 11. Younger kids benefit most from the curated library; older kids from the time controls and approved-apps grid. Beyond 11, kids tend to want more autonomy and Kidlyoo may feel restrictive.

Yes. Add as many child profiles as you like. Each kid gets their own library, their own approved apps, their own time settings, and their own colour theme.

Kidlyoo syncs your video library, time settings, and child profiles across all your devices. Approved Android apps are per-device because the available apps differ by phone (Samsung's apps aren't installed on an Oppo). Use the "Copy from another device" flow to mirror approvals to a new phone.

Two ways: share your account (they sign in with your email and password), or send them a guest installation (they install Kidlyoo on their device and sign in with your account, with their own per-device approved-apps list). A dedicated multi-parent feature is on the roadmap.

Yes. The free tier supports 1 child profile and up to 10 approved videos. Every safety and lockdown feature is included - we don't charge for safety. Reports include a small Kidlyoo watermark.

Unlimited child profiles, unlimited videos, unlimited approved apps, unwatermarked reports, and priority support. $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year (save 50% with annual).

No. Kidlyoo itself is ad-free on every tier. The only ads your kid sees are YouTube's own ads inside the YouTube player, which we can't block. YouTube Premium on the same Google account removes those.

Yes. Cancel from Google Play - Subscriptions. Your premium features remain active until the current billing period ends, then you drop back to the free tier. Your data stays.

Refunds for Play Store purchases go through Google Play's refund policy (generally a 48-hour window after purchase). For longer-tail issues, email support@kidlyoo.com and we'll work it out.

In Supabase (Postgres) hosted on AWS infrastructure. We use Supabase's row-level security to make sure no parent can ever read another parent's data.

Yes. Open Kidlyoo, then Parent profile, then Data and privacy, then Delete account. We delete everything within 7 days. Or email support@kidlyoo.com and we'll do it for you.

No. We don't sell, share, or rent your data. We don't have ad networks. We don't have third-party trackers in the app. Our revenue comes from the optional Premium subscription, full stop.

Kidlyoo is positioned as a tool for parents, not a service for children. The parent is the customer, the parent owns the account, the parent is responsible for managing their child's data within their account. We follow Google Play's Families Policy and the COPPA requirements for parental-control apps.

We commit to giving 90 days' notice if we ever wind down the service, with an export of your video lists and settings.

Check the four-point list: Kidlyoo is set as your Home app, Accessibility is granted, Battery exemption is granted, and (on Samsung / Xiaomi / Huawei / Oppo / OnePlus / Realme / Vivo) Kidlyoo is in the "Never sleeping" list. If all four are green and the kid still escapes, email support@kidlyoo.com with the device model.

That's YouTube. The video was probably deleted, made private, or restricted to certain countries. Remove it from your library or replace it with another version.

Force-stop and reopen. If it keeps happening, email us with your device model and what you were doing when it crashed.

Email support@kidlyoo.com. A human replies within one business day, usually faster.