Parents' Guide to Kiddle

Website http://www.kiddle.co/
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Common Sense Media Review

Erin Brereton By Erin Brereton , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Kid-friendly search with suitable results, some exceptions.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 11 parent reviews

Parents say the website features an overwhelming amount of violence and inappropriate sexual content that many consider unsuitable for children. While some reviews appreciate its ease of use and the safety of certain content for educational purposes, many others criticize its limited search capabilities and lack of filtering options, leading to frustration among users and educators alike.

  • inappropriate content
  • limited features
  • safety concerns
  • user frustration
  • educational resource
Summarized with AI
 

 

See all 11 parent reviews
age 5+

Based on 2 kid reviews

 

 

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What's It About?

KIDDLE is designed to be a safe search engine for kids and is supposed to be free from controversial or mature subjects. Results come from Google Safe Search, which the site says will filter out explicit or deceptive content. In search results, the first few websites listed are ones written for kids, which Kiddle editors have approved. The next few are sites that weren't created for kids but are easy to understand and safe. The remaining results are more complex sites that have made it through Google's filters. Kids can also narrow searches to specifically find news items, images, or videos.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 11 ):
Kids say ( 2 ):

Some users may assume this website is from Google, since Google Safe Search is prominently mentioned, its privacy policy says the site is powered by Google custom search -- and its logo echoes Google's logo colors. But Google's published list of products doesn't include Kiddle; and several sources, including BBC News and CBC News, have said there's no affiliation. The site does a decent job of preventing sites containing nudity, swearing, and gratuitous violence from appearing in search results. Some harsh images can get through, though, such as photos from true-crime TV shows.

In addition, Kiddle's list of blocked terms has caused some controversy in the past year. The site reportedly prevented searches using terms such as "gay" and "transgender," although it seems to have lifted the ban, as entering those terms now provides news article and other results. Possibly because the site lists the most kid-friendly links first, search results aren't always too focused; entering kittens, for example, turns up a kitten fact page, kitten video awards, a painting activity, and a poem. As with many search engines, entering longer, more specific terms can help you find more precise content -- or, for a more targeted search, you may just want to help your child use Google and supervise the process.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the benefits of having search engines and websites designed just for kids. How can kids tell which sites are safe to use?

  • Discuss the difference between a reliable source and an unsubstantiated one. How can kids determine whether a source is legit when looking up information?

  • Kids may come across sites with crime-related or other potentially disturbing photos. Discuss how seeing images that involve violence makes them feel -- and how to report ones you feel are inappropriate to site administrators.

Website Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

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