Google has announced the addition of a new “Kids” section to the Google Play Store that offers preselected apps approved by teachers.
The apps in the Kids section will be assessed by teachers based on various factors such as educational use, the ability to invoke creativity and imagination.
“We are launching the Teacher Approved Program, an editorial program aimed at highlighting high quality teacher approved apps for children.” This is part of our ongoing efforts to create a safer Google Play for kids, “said Michael Watson, product manager, Google Play in a statement.
The Children tab will replace the Family tab existing in the Google Play Store.
The search engine giant had planned to launch the section later this year but decided to deploy it early because people are staying indoors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with availability initially limited to the United States . A global deployment will take place in the coming months.
According to TechCrunch, the applications will be grouped by age: 5 and under, 6-8 and 9-12.
At launch, there will be around 1,000 apps approved by teachers live in the Play Store and around 60 also included in the Google Play Pass. The company says it is working with its Play Pass partners to increase that number over time.
