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YouTube Kids on Android TV: why it disappeared, and what replaced it

By The TameTV team · Updated November 3, 2026

If the YouTube Kids app is gone from your Android TV, nothing is wrong with your TV. Google retired the standalone YouTube Kids app on Android TV, Google TV and other TVs in July 2024. YouTube Kids still exists on the TV, but now it lives inside the main YouTube app as a profile you pick when you open it.

The setup takes a few minutes. Below are the steps, what to do if it loops, why an old APK is not a good fix, and what the TV version still can't do.

What happened to YouTube Kids on Android TV

In July 2024 the separate YouTube Kids TV app was retired on smart TVs, Android TV and Google TV, Fire TV, Chromecast and game consoles. The phone and tablet YouTube Kids apps were not affected. They still work, and the Kids profile you set up there is the one you'll pick on the TV.

So if you're searching for "YouTube Kids not on TV anymore", the short answer is that the content moved, not that it was taken away. You now reach it through the regular YouTube app.

How to get YouTube Kids on your TV today

You need the parent Google account that created your child's YouTube Kids profile. If you haven't made one yet, you can still use the guest setup further down.

If you sign in with your account

1. Open the main YouTube app on the TV.
2. Sign in with the parent account that created the YouTube Kids profile.
3. On the "Who's watching?" screen, pick your child.
4. If you're already inside YouTube and don't see that screen, open the left menu → your profile picture → choose the child.

Menu names and layout can differ a little between TV models and YouTube app versions, but the "Who's watching?" screen is the main entry point.

If you'd rather not sign in on the TV

1. Open the main YouTube app.
2. Choose "Set up YouTube Kids".
3. Choose "Set up Guest Account" and follow the prompts.

This gives your kid the Kids experience without your Google account on the TV.

Set a parent code so your kid stays in Kids

A parent code keeps the child inside YouTube Kids. Without one, nothing keeps them there. Google's help page below explains the current steps; keep the code to yourself.

A few things to know before you start

• If your child's account is both a supervised YouTube account and a YouTube Kids profile, the TV gives them the supervised experience, not YouTube Kids.
• Google Workspace accounts (work or school accounts) can't create Kids profiles. Use a personal Google account.
• Google keeps the current steps here: YouTube Kids on smart TVs and game consoles.

If YouTube Kids on your TV is not working

In August and September 2025, parents reported a loop on several Android TVs, including Xiaomi models. The TV's YouTube app told them to use YouTube Kids, then bounced them straight back to where they started. A fix was later reported.

If you hit something similar, the advice that worked for others was:

1. Update the YouTube app on the TV.
2. Sign in to YouTube on the TV again.
3. Pick the child again on "Who's watching?".

If it still loops after that, the guest setup above is a reasonable fallback while you wait for an app update.

Why an old YouTube Kids APK isn't the answer

Searches for a "YouTube Kids Android TV APK" usually come from parents who just want the old app back. We understand the pull, but we don't recommend it, and we won't point to download sources.

• The TV app is no longer supported. Google retired it in July 2024, so an old copy gets no fixes and may stop working at any time.
• APK files from unofficial sites are a risk. You can't easily check what's inside them, and you'd be installing them on a device your kids use every day.

The YouTube Kids profile inside the main YouTube app is the supported path, and it gets updates.

Where it falls short

The TV version of YouTube Kids covers what your kids can watch. It does much less about how long they watch.

No timer that we could find. The YouTube Kids phone and tablet app has a timer. We couldn't find it in the Kids mode of the TV's YouTube app. YouTube's "Take a break" and bedtime reminders are documented for the mobile apps; we couldn't find them on the TV app either.

Kids can switch profiles without a parent code. If you skip the parent code, nothing stops a kid from leaving the Kids profile and going back to regular YouTube on the same TV.

Older kids may not want it. Some older kids push back on a Kids profile. If your older child has a supervised YouTube account instead, that's what the TV will show them.

The TV itself may not help with time. On Google TV, a kids profile can set one daily screen-time limit for the whole profile, but there's no limit per app. Parents have also reported that YouTube time wasn't counted toward that daily limit (reports from 2022 to 2023; we don't know if it's still the case). On plain Android TV, such as the original Mi TV Stick and older Xiaomi sets, there are no Google kids profiles at all. If that's your situation, our guide on Google TV kids profiles that aren't available goes through the options.

No changes from your phone. Where a Google TV kids profile does exist, its daily limit and bedtime are set on the TV. Family Link can't change them.

So YouTube Kids on the TV is a good filter for content, but it leaves the "how long" question to you. If YouTube time is the main problem, see our guide on limiting YouTube time on Android TV.

How TameTV will handle it

TameTV is in development. It will not replace YouTube Kids, and it can't see or filter what's inside the YouTube app. What it will do is decide how long YouTube is open, for each kid, alongside the rest of the TV.

Here is what that will look like:

1. Daily budget. Each kid gets a total amount of screen time per day.
2. Per-app limits. Give YouTube 30 minutes and Netflix 90, or whatever you decide. When YouTube's time is up, YouTube locks for that kid. You can also block YouTube for one kid and leave it open for another.
3. Allowed hours. The TV works when you say and locks when you don't.
4. From your phone, anywhere. Change limits, lock the TV, or add bonus time without walking to the living room.

Kids pick themselves on a "who's watching?" screen, get a warning 5 minutes and 1 minute before a limit, and only see the apps you've ticked for them. You'll have a parent PIN to override any of it.

The good pairing is YouTube Kids for what they watch, and TameTV for how long. Later, we plan a separate safe YouTube mode that shows only the channels you approve. We'll share more when it's closer.

A few honest limits:

• TameTV will need Android 9 or newer.
• To lock apps on Android 10 and up, it needs the Accessibility permission, which you grant during setup. Without it, TameTV can only count time.
• It cannot look inside YouTube, so it won't filter videos or channels. Keep using YouTube Kids or a supervised account for that.
• Compatibility is expected, not yet confirmed on real devices. See the Xiaomi page and the Chromecast with Google TV page for what we expect on those devices.

For the full picture, read how TameTV works.

If you'd like to try it when it's ready, join the waitlist.