Spotify expands the family experience with Spotify Kids app
The new app is aimed at kids aged three or older and features child-friendly curated content
Spotify is diversifying its Premium Family plan by introducing a new app called Spotify Kids. The app is exclusive to Spotify Premium Family subscribers, and is aimed at children aged three and older; it is currently undergoing a beta test in Ireland and will roll out worldwide shortly after.
Built with privacy and security in mind, Spotify Kids is essentially a parental-locked version of Spotify with a library of child-friendly content that includes songs, stories, soundtracks and “singalongs”. Explicit content is filtered out, obviously, as are adverts; after all, this is a service exclusively available to users paying for the Premium Family membership.
So far, so good. Parents can select from two preset “modes”, depending on the age of their child(ren). “Audio for younger kids” will limit the app to a selection of lullabies, singalongs and soundtracks; “Audio for older kids”, meanwhile, will swap in a few current age-appropriate hits and lengthier playlists.
The app itself looks almost nothing like its grown-up sibling. It’s all bright colours and simple interfaces, and it looks exceptionally easy to navigate. Rather than adding a profile picture, your child can choose from a selection of avatars; they serve no function, but they look cute, and are clearly aimed at little ones.
Spotify Kids is built on a stack of playlists, each representing a different broad category. Here’s what is available at launch:
- Top hits
- Movies
- TV shows
- Play
- Party
- Stories
- Learn
- Bedtime
- Favourites
Spotify says that more content, including seasonal stuff, will be added after launch. The people responsible for these playlists, the firm says, “have nearly 100 years’ combined experience curating safe content for children”, and have come from such esteemed organisations as Nickelodeon, Disney and Discovery Kids.
Spotify Kids is out in beta form in Ireland as of 30 October, and will launch worldwide in the near future. You can find out more via this blog post from Spotify.