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Kiddle: Search engine for kids, with a twist
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A child uses a tablet PC. Child-friendly search engines like Kiddle are arguably a big help in preventing kids from stumbling upon adult materials on the internet. (Shutterstock/-)
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hild-friendly search engines like Kiddle are arguably a big help in preventing kids from stumbling upon adult materials on the internet.
Registered in 2014, the website is powered by Google search engine yet is not connected to the tech giant.
How does it work? When a kid types something into the search bar at kiddle.co, the first to three results that appear are safe websites written specifically for children, which were handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors. The next four to seven results are those that have content written in simple language, also handpicked by the editors. Meanwhile, the next eight onwards are sites filtered by Google safe search.
Kiddle states on the website that it filters sites with explicit or deceptive concent. However, its judgment on what is good or bad is rather questionable. For example, famous lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret is banned from its website but not the movie Fifty Shades of Grey, and the word "suicide" is allowed but "sex education" is blocked. There have been news reports that, in the past, Kiddle used to ban terms such as LGBT and menstruation. But parents are supposedly able to request blocking of any keywords and sites they deem inappropriate.
It is not clear who owns Kiddle; the search engine only states “powered by editors and Google safe search”. But in terms of privacy, it claims that it does not collect personal information and clears its log every 24 hours. (kes)
