COONI

COONI — a YouTube filtering app for parents

Parents choose what stays. COONI filters the rest.

COONI is a YouTube parental control and filtering app for parents: it helps parents filter what their children watch by choosing the channels a child can see, blocking channels that are not right for kids, and blocking single videos inside a channel while keeping the rest of that channel’s useful videos.

How COONI filters

Choose or block whole channels

Allow only the channels you trust, or allow everything except the channels you block. A channel that is not right for kids disappears from Child Mode completely.

Block one video, keep the channel

A good channel can still have a video you would rather skip. Hide just that video and keep the rest of the channel, so useful songs, lessons and stories stay available.

Filter topics and words everywhere

Block topics such as scary videos, pranks and "brainrot" across every channel, turn categories on or off, keep Shorts apart, and set daily screen time.

COONI in action

How COONI filters YouTube for children, shown in the real app with a voice-over: allow the channels you trust, block a channel that is not for kids, hide a single video and keep the channel, filter topics such as brainrot and Halloween everywhere, and set a daily limit, allowed hours and a timer. Watch the video.

Credits

Channels shown: CoComelon, Blippi, BabyTV, Pinkfong, Lingokids, Giligilis, Rachel Wonderland, Blossom.

Channel names, logos, banners and video thumbnails shown in this video belong to their owners, and so do the example videos from other creators. They appear only to show how COONI’s filters work, as a parent might use them. None of these channels or creators has sponsored, endorsed, approved or partnered with COONI, and COONI is not associated with them. Showing a channel as allowed, not allowed or blocked is an example of a parent’s choice, not a judgement of that channel. YouTube is a trademark of Google LLC; COONI is not affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube or Google.

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

Read and share the story

What parents can do

  • Allow only the YouTube channels a parent chooses ("Only channels I allow"), or allow all except blocked channels
  • Block channels that are not suitable for children
  • Block or show single videos inside a channel without blocking the whole channel
  • Block topics such as scary, horror, pranks, dangerous challenges and brainrot, plus your own words (COONI Plus)
  • Turn video categories on or off
  • Shorts kept apart and never played automatically; optional rule to hide clips under 1 minute
  • Filtered search and recommendations from approved content only
  • Daily time limit, on-screen timer and autoplay setting; allowed viewing hours with COONI Plus
  • Parent PIN that keeps Parent Mode closed to children
  • Guided "Set up COONI" in about 3 minutes, with suggested kids’ channels and Preview
  • Works on iPhone, iPad, Android and computers; installable as an app (PWA)
  • No child accounts, no ads from COONI, no data sold

Price

COONI is free to use, and watching videos is always free. COONI Plus adds more parent tools for $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year (pay once or auto-renew).

Guides for parents

How COONI compares

COONI vs YouTube Kids, Kivvie, WhitelistVideo and VidCove: other ways parents control what children watch on YouTube.

All five let parents choose the channels a child can watch. Here is where they differ.

What parents askCOONIYouTube KidsKivvieWhitelistVideoVidCove
PriceFree · Plus $3.99/moFreeFree for 5 channels · $4.99/moPaid per childFree to start
Hide one video, keep the channelYes, FreeYes———
Block topics in every channelYes, Scary, brainrot…——Yes, Keywords—
Shorts controlYes—Yes, No Shorts feedYesYes
Daily time limitYes, FreeYes, Timer——Yes
No app store downloadYes, Any browserWeb or appChild app (iOS, Android)Apps or browser extensionWeb or app
  • COONI: free with unlimited channels; COONI Plus is $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year. Topic filters work even inside allowed channels; your own blocked words come with Plus. Help pages in 13 languages (the app is in English).
  • YouTube Kids: with "Approve content yourself" a parent picks the videos, channels and collections; parents can block a single video or its whole channel and set a timer. Works in its app or at youtubekids.com.
  • Kivvie: free for 1 child and 5 channels; $4.99 a month, $49 a year or $99 once. Paid plans can add single videos as playlists. Child app for iPhone and Android.
  • WhitelistVideo: priced per child, with a free 2-hour test. Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad, Android and Android TV.
  • VidCove: phones, tablets, Fire tablets, the web and smart TVs; video-by-video approval in Strict Mode.

Where another option may suit you better

  • YouTube Kids is free and made by Google, with its own app.
  • WhitelistVideo and VidCove also run on smart TVs and let a child ask for a new channel.
  • Kivvie, WhitelistVideo and VidCove have their own apps in the app stores.

Parents also compare SafeTube (a Chrome extension), WatchSafe, Cocopine and Google Family Link.

Checked 8 October 2026 on each app's own website: YouTube Kids (blocking, timer, web), Kivvie, WhitelistVideo, VidCove. "—" means their site does not say. Prices and features can change. Product names belong to their owners; COONI is not affiliated with any of these apps, YouTube or Google. See something out of date? Email support@cooni.online and we will fix it.

Create a parent account · How to use COONI · Questions parents ask

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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