FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything parents ask about the YouTube channel whitelist, pricing, setup, and how Kivvie handles data. Can't find your answer? Reach us through the support page. For the product facts on a single page, see our Kivvie summary for AI assistants and search engines.
?How can my child watch YouTube without ads?
Videos play ad-free in Kivvie, with a channel list you choose for your child. Compare YouTube Premium, YouTube Kids, ad blockers and Kivvie in our ad-free viewing guide.
?How is Kivvie different from YouTube Kids?
YouTube Kids has an Approved content only mode, but it can still recommend videos within the set a parent approved. Kivvie starts empty. Your child browses the channels and playlist videos you assigned, without the standard YouTube home, Shorts feed, comments, or open search across YouTube.
?How do I get started?
Start on the website: sign in with Google on the web dashboard, create a profile for each kid, and approve their channels. We never see your password. Then grab the mobile app on iOS or Android, sign in with the same account, and hand it over. They'll see the channels you approved and any individual videos you chose for their playlists. Prefer not to sign in on the kid's phone or iPad? Generate a setup code from the Profiles page, then scan the QR (or type the code) in the app on that device. On a TV, open Kivvie and scan the QR code on the screen with your phone. The support page is there if you get stuck.
?Does Kivvie work on Family Link or Screen Time supervised devices?
Yes. Supervised devices normally block a parent Google sign-in, which locks parents out of most YouTube apps. Kivvie gets around this with a setup code: generate a QR from the Profiles page on the dashboard, scan it (or type the code) in the app on your child's device, and it pairs to their profile with no Google account needed on that device. A TV works the other way round. It shows its own QR code, and you scan it with your phone and pick the child. The camera is used only to read that QR on the device; frames are not uploaded. The paired device is view-only, so all management stays with you on the dashboard.
?What channels can I approve?
Any public YouTube channel. Khan Academy Kids, Bluey, Numberblocks, random hobby channels your kid is into. You can get started with pre-approved channels from Channel Packs, or search YouTube and add your own from the parent dashboard. Each kid's profile has its own list.
?Can I set different channels for different kids?
Yes. Each child profile has its own separate channel list. So your 10-year-old gets science and documentary channels while your 5-year-old only sees Sesame Street and StoryBots. You manage everything from one dashboard, and changes sync to the app right away. The free plan includes 1 profile. Paid plans add more child profiles and channels. See pricing.
?Are YouTube Shorts and comments shown?
Kivvie does not include YouTube's Shorts tab or swipe feed, and comments are not shown. Children browse approved channels and playlists of individual videos instead of the standard YouTube home or open search. The channel feed leaves out videos of three minutes or less. Parents can still add a short video to a playlist, because a playlist plays only the videos the parent picked, one at a time.
?Is Kivvie free?
Free plan gets you 1 child and 5 channels, plus 3 channel changes a month, no card. Paid plans add more profiles and channels, plus playlists of individual videos, with monthly and yearly options. See current pricing on our website or in the app. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play. To upgrade, head to kivvie.app.
?Is my data safe?
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We don't sell your information, and Kivvie does not place its own ads in the app or parent dashboard. Videos play ad-free in Kivvie. They use YouTube's embedded player, so YouTube may set cookies under its own policies. Our website does not load Meta Pixel or any other ad tracker. Our website analytics also uses session replay to spot broken pages. Typed form inputs are always masked. On the dashboard, onboarding, sign-in, support, and email-preference pages, page content is blocked from recordings. Admin pages and the watch pages children use are never recorded. If you're in the EU or UK, our website asks before it loads analytics, and you can change your answer with the Cookie settings link at the bottom of our website pages and the sign-in page. Watch history and duration may be collected so you can see what your kids watched in the parent dashboard, but it's never used for algorithms or shared with advertisers. We no longer operate a pre-launch waitlist, and the remaining historical waitlist submissions have been deleted. Kivvie is COPPA compliant. If you're in the EU or UK, the GDPR rights section of our policy covers access, correction, erasure, portability and complaints, and we answer requests within one month. You can delete your account and all its data from the app whenever you want, and email us if you want a copy of your data first. The full details are in our Privacy Policy, and our Cookie Notice lists the cookies we set.
?Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?
Nope. Sign in with Google, create a child profile, then search for channels. The dashboard at kivvie.app walks you through it. The support page has step-by-step instructions if you need them.
?What devices does Kivvie work on?
You manage everything from kivvie.app, which works in any browser on any device. Kids watch on the mobile app, available on both iOS and Android. Changes you make on the dashboard sync to the app right away.
?What are channel packs?
Channel packs are bundles of YouTube channels grouped by age, interest, or subject, like Learning, STEM, Creative, or Entertainment. Instead of adding channels one by one, you install a pack and your child's profile gets a bunch of parent-recommended channels at once. They're community-recommended, not sponsored. You can remove individual channels after installing a pack.
?How does Kivvie keep kids safe from inappropriate content?
The app starts empty. A child browses videos from channels you've approved and individual videos you chose for their playlists. The child app has no standard YouTube home, Shorts feed, comments, or open search. New uploads from an approved channel can appear in the feed, so parents still need to review the channels they choose. Adding one playlist video does not approve the rest of its channel.
?Does YouTube have its own parental controls?
Yes. Restricted Mode filters some mature content. YouTube Kids has a filtered library and an Approved Content Only mode. A supervised YouTube account lets a parent choose a content level, block known channels, and set the Shorts feed limit to zero. It does not let a parent approve a fixed list of channels inside the standard YouTube experience. See our full breakdown of YouTube's built-in controls.
?Can Kivvie block specific YouTube channels instead of only allowing a list?
Kivvie uses a whitelist model for channels: you approve the channels your child can browse, and everything else is blocked automatically. You can still add one specific video from an unapproved channel to a playlist without approving the rest of that channel. If you're comparing blocking and whitelisting, see how to block YouTube channels for kids.
?How much does Kivvie cost?
Free forever for 1 child profile and 5 approved channels, with 3 channel changes a month, no credit card required. Paid plans add more profiles and channels, plus playlists of individual videos, with monthly and yearly options. See current pricing on our website or in the app.
?Is there a free trial or is the free plan permanent?
The free plan is not a time-limited trial. It stays free for as long as you use it, with 1 child profile and 5 approved channels. Once a child has 5 channels, you can swap up to 3 of them each month. Upgrade when you need more children, more channels, or playlists of individual videos.
?How do custom playlists work?
A custom playlist is a private list of individual YouTube videos you make for one child. In the parent dashboard, give it a name, paste in YouTube video links, and drag the videos into the order you want. Once it has at least one available video, it appears as its own row in the mobile app. You can use a video from a channel you have not approved; the rest of that channel stays blocked. Creating playlists and adding videos are paid features, so they need a paid plan. Each playlist holds up to 20 videos.
?Why can't I add a video to a custom playlist?
A video of any length can be added. A video will not be added if it is private, unavailable, still processing, blocked from embedded playback, or YouTube does not report its length. You also cannot add the same video twice or put more than 20 videos in one playlist. A video may disappear later if its creator or YouTube removes it or changes its availability. If a video will not play in the app because it cannot be played outside YouTube, Kivvie hides it for every family once YouTube's data confirms this or two families report it.
?Can I see what my child has been watching?
Yes, on a paid plan. The Activity page in the parent dashboard shows each child's watch history: how many videos they watched, watch time, which channels came up most, and the recent titles. Only you can see it, on the profiles in your own account. Recording starts when your paid plan starts, so a first subscription begins with an empty page that fills as your child watches. Kivvie keeps one entry per video rather than a session-by-session log, so rewatching a video updates that entry and its play count instead of adding a new one, and very short views (under 10 seconds) are skipped. If your paid plan ends, recording stops, and entries already recorded are kept until you erase them or delete the child profile. You can also erase a child's history yourself at any time from the Activity page, on any plan. If you would rather Kivvie did not record it at all, you can switch watch history off per child in Settings and keep every other paid feature. On the free plan no watch history is recorded at all.
?Does Kivvie work on Chromebook or a computer browser?
The parent dashboard works in any browser, including on a Chromebook. The child viewing app itself is a native iOS and Android app; there is currently no dedicated Chromebook or browser extension for the child experience.
?Can I cancel or change my plan at any time?
Yes, on a monthly or yearly plan. You can switch between monthly and yearly, or cancel, from the subscription page at any time. If you already have a lifetime plan, there is nothing to cancel or renew.
Still have a question?
Set up Kivvie in about 2 minutes, free, no credit card. Or reach us through support if something is still unclear.