COONI

Why I built COONI

Clark Gil Evacuado, Developer of COONI · Parent

Why I built COONI

I am Clark Gil Evacuado, the developer of COONI. You are probably wondering why I created this platform when there is already a much bigger platform than mine.

This was my problem before: my child started doing something because of what he watched. Before, he did not know the meaning of "scared." Then one time it changed. He learned the word "scared" because the platform suggested spooky and ghost videos since Halloween was coming, based on YouTube's suggestions and autoplay algorithm. So every time the light is turned off, he cries and wants it turned on.

And he is not the only one: many kids today watch whatever the algorithm suggests next, not what their parents chose for them. Even on YouTube Kids, the YouTube algorithm is not good at filtering what is good and what is best for a child, and AI videos are also spreading on YouTube and YouTube Kids. There are also brainrot videos, and DIY videos that let kids explore, but some DIYs are harmful, or they fix what is already fixed just to make it broken. Over the years, reports have also found violent knock-offs of cartoons, conspiracy videos and even self-harm instructions hidden inside cartoon clips on YouTube Kids. So I came up with a solution: to create this platform that is good for them. Only parents know what is good for their children.

I tried teaching him to use the app. I tried to make the app as familiar an experience as possible so that my child would not be shocked and overwhelmed. At first he did not want to use it, but as time went by, he started using it and watching what I recommended for him to watch. I control his limit, and he explores what is educational. That is the vision I want for most parents.

I am not making COONI to compete with YouTube. I made it to help parents filter what their child watches, so the parent decides what plays next instead of the algorithm. I want kids and parents to share the same vision and mission as mine, because parents will protect their children from threats in these times. So make sure you watch what your kids are watching.

Research studies

  1. Papadamou, K., Papasavva, A., Zannettou, S., Blackburn, J., Kourtellis, N., Leontiadis, I., Stringhini, G., & Sirivianos, M. (2020). Disturbed YouTube for kids: Characterizing and detecting inappropriate videos targeting young children. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, 14(1), 522–533. https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/7320 Young children are likely to reach disturbing videos when browsing from harmless ones, because YouTube’s recommendations suggest videos that copy or remix children’s content.
  2. Ahmed, S. H., Khan, M. J., Qaisar, H. M. U., & Sukthankar, G. (2023). Malicious or benign? Towards effective content moderation for children’s videos. Proceedings of the International FLAIRS Conference, 36. https://journals.flvc.org/FLAIRS/article/view/133315 Harmful scenes hidden inside cartoon-style children’s videos are hard for automatic filters to catch.
  3. Woods, M., McClure, M., Schaller, A., Weeks, H. M., Suh, B., Chaudhry, S., Tibbitts, A., Kirkorian, H., Barr, R., Coyne, S. M., & Radesky, J. S. (2026). YouTube viewing and content quality in toddlers. Infancy, 31(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.70082 In 1,032 YouTube and YouTube Kids videos recently watched by 2-year-olds, much of the content was low quality, and physical violence and consumerism were common.
  4. Nguyen, L., Walters, J., Paul, S., Monreal Ijurco, S., Rainey, G. E., Parekh, N., Blair, G., & Darrah, M. (2025). Feeds, feelings, and focus: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the cognitive and mental health correlates of short-form video use. Psychological Bulletin, 151(9), 1125–1146. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41231585/ Across 71 studies (98,299 people, children and adults), more short-form video use was linked to poorer attention and self-control.
  5. Mintz, A., & Bozzi, J. (2026). Slop for kids: An exploratory study of AI-generated videos for children on YouTube. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research. https://spir.aoir.org/ojs/index.php/spir/article/view/15158 AI-generated children’s videos (mostly music and stories, also “educational” ones) are a growing presence on YouTube.

News reports

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Parents choose what stays. COONI filters the rest.

COONI filters using the information YouTube provides (titles, descriptions, tags, length and the Made for Kids label). No filter is perfect, so parents always have the final say. COONI is not affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube.

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