Twitter has rolled out a new version of short-video service Vine and it's trying to lure in children between five and 12 years old.
Realizing that the adult-centered Vine has become increasingly popular with children, Twitter unveiled the new Vine Kids on Friday, Jan. 30. The new app is a standalone service catering directly to children, serving them up family-friendly content such as animated videos, videos of funny animals and clips from Sesame Street.
"The idea came about during an office conversation in early January," said Carolyn Penner, head of communications and marketing at Vine. "One of my colleagues was talking about how much his two-year-old daughter loves Vine -- he said he wished there was a separate app she could use to more easily watch posts that are appropriate for kids."
To view more vines, kids only need to swipe to the right. The app makes fun, quirky sounds every time the kids tap the screen. The videos are hand-picked by Vine editors themselves and children do not have to create an account to view the six-second looping videos. They also cannot create their own vines; they will need to use their parents' or any other adults' Vine accounts. However, any videos posted on the adult Vine will not be cross-posted to Vine Kids.
Vine would not say who creates the vines for Vine Kids.
"How they got there is magic," a Vine spokesperson told Business Insider.
Twitter is treading on delicate ground with the release of Vine Kids, as it has to comply with the rules mandated by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in safeguarding the privacy and safety of children online. Certain provisions require Vine Kids to inform parents about how the app collects information from the users if they are below 13 years old.
However, Vine Kids' privacy policy stresses that it does not collect any personal information about the children except any information that their parents expressly provide to Vine, such as when they contact customer support or communicate with Vine Kids in any way.
"The types of information we may collect include your name, email address, and any other information you choose to provide," said Vine Kids. "We use this information to respond to your questions or concerns. The Vine Kids mobile application does not collect or allow the submission of personal information."
It's unclear what Twitter plans to do with Vine Kids. What is clear, however, is how the microblogging network struggling to grow its user base to increase engagement and ad revenue, and make its investors happy.
If Vine Kids proves to be a success, it could usher in another wave of new sign-ups for the adult version of Vine and expand Twitter's reach in the future.
