Even without a name or address, building a behavioral profile of a child's viewing and search habits raises privacy concerns and is subject to COPPA requirements.
Consumer impact
YouTube Kids collects your child's viewing and search activity, device identifiers, and — if a parent signs in with a Google Account — profile details including the child's name and age, which are used to personalize content recommendations. Voice search audio is briefly collected but immediately deleted after processing. You can pause or clear your child's watch and search history by going to the parental settings section within the app.
What you can do
⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
Delete Your Data
Open the YouTube Kids app, navigate to Parental Settings, and select the option to pause or clear watch and search history. For child profiles linked to a Google Account, clear history for each profile individually.
Applicable agencies
Federal Trade Commission (ftc)
Oversees unfair or deceptive business practices and can investigate companies that mislead consumers about data collection, sharing, or use.
Who can file: Anyone affected by the company's practices (US or international)
What you need: Your account details, a timeline of relevant events, and a description of the specific issue
What to expect: Complaints inform FTC enforcement priorities and investigations but do not result in individual resolution or compensation