YouTube have launched YouTube Kids, an application limited to child-friendly content on YouTube, in the UK and Ireland.

YouTube Kids launched in the US 9 months ago, designed to give parents an easy way to make sure that their children are watching appropriate content whilst watching videos on the largest video-hosting site in the world. Now it’s available on Android and iOS devices in the UK and Ireland.

The new app will feature new content aimed specifically at children in the UK and Ireland, including Octonauts, In the Night Garden as well as UK YouTubers like Stampylonghead and his Wonder Quest. Parents will have the option to disable the search function allowing children only to access videos recommended on the homepage. With the search function children can explore the millions of videos available however there is a chance that an unsuitable video could slip through the cracks.

The app has been downloaded over a million times in the US and for the most part has been seen as an easy way for parents to allows their kids access to YouTube’s massive database of videos, safe in the comfort that they will only have access to child-friendly content.

Another feature of the app is that it allows parents to set a timer so that they can dictate how long their kids can watch online videos for. The app also allows a passcode to be set to prevent access to the settings of the application.

Upon launching the app it will notify the user that, whilst they have put extensive effort into bringing an app that only serves videos appropriate for young children, “it’s possible that your child may find something that you don’t want them to watch.”. However with the numerous safeguards it is a mostly guaranteed safe environment, especially compared to the native YouTube application.

You can download YouTube Kids for iOS and Android now for free.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ8MIVhfdPI?rel=0&w=640&h=360]