WayTube
1.0 OVERVIEW
WayTube works with YouTube content, adding parent controls and filtering on top of it. Every video is given an Age Fit Score out of 100 before a child sees it, scored against the child's age band rather than inherited from the channel it came from.
Parents set a threshold once per child profile. Anything below it never appears. The design target is children aged 2 to 13, with different strictness per profile rather than one setting for the whole household.
2.0 AGE FIT SCORE
Age Fit Score: a per-video rating out of 100, produced from seven criteria calibrated to the child's age. Shown in the feed and on search results, with the criteria behind it available per video.
2.1 Criteria
| # | Criterion |
|---|---|
| 01 | Age appropriateness |
| 02 | Language level |
| 03 | Content safety |
| 04 | Learning value |
| 05 | Thinking skills |
| 06 | Engagement quality |
| 07 | Cultural sensitivity |
2.2 Filtering and ordering
Filtering and ordering are separate operations. The threshold on the profile decides what is allowed at all, and anything below it never appears. What remains is ordered by Age Fit Score, highest first.
Age sets the band each video is scored against, so correcting a child's birthday changes what is allowed from the next load onwards.
2.3 Public score check
Any YouTube link can be checked on waytube.app without the app installed, returning the score and the criteria behind it.
3.0 PARENT CONTROLS
3.1 Per-child configuration
- Age, Age Fit Score threshold, language, and content settings, per child profile
- Parental Controls sit behind a parent PIN
- Date of birth is editable, and re-bands scoring from the next load
3.2 Time and volume limits
- Daily watch limit, with optional break reminders, per child
- Extra time can be requested by the child and approved with the parent PIN
- Daily cap on how many videos the feed offers
- Search can be switched off entirely, per profile
3.3 Channel selection
Video choices allows channels to be picked by hand, started from a prepared selection with age-fit suggestions alongside, or left unrestricted so the Age Fit Score alone decides.
3.4 Activity logs
Activity logs show viewed and blocked items with context.
4.0 AVAILABILITY
| Platform | Listing |
|---|---|
| iOS, iPadOS | App Store |
| Android | Google Play |
| Web | waytube.app |
5.0 ENGINEERING NOTES
5.1 Scope
- Design (UI/UX)
- Backend architecture (Node.js)
- Native client delivery (iOS and Android)
- Growth and marketing
5.2 Compliance
Navigated multiple App Store and Google Play policy reviews during launch, including a Google Play Content Aggregation dispute resolved directly with the reviewer.
- POLICY REVIEW SHIPPED App Store and Google Play, multiple rounds during launch.
- DISPUTE RESOLVED Google Play Content Aggregation policy, settled directly with the reviewer.