I was watching Youtube this morning (yes, you absolutely have to subscribe to Viva La Dirt League, they’re hilarious) and I came across a new option on the share sheet of my Google Pixel 6 Pro running Android 12. You’ll notice in the images below that a new “With Kids” option now appears to the right of the “Copy Link” feature, indicating that you can, in fact, share standard Youtube video links with your kids if they are set up on Google Family Link.

Tapping on it will bring up a “Share with your kids” dialog with the profile picture your child has set for their account on Youtube Kids. When you share a link this way, it will be available on Youtube Kids in the future when they browse. Obviously, clicking the email link will immediately bring it up for them to watch, and after watching it, it will appear in their history.

I haven’t seen an official announcement about this update yet, but it certainly has something to do with Google’s desire to create a safer, yet more helpful place for tweens and teens, as there is was discussed last February. Parents and guardians have the choice to let their children explore a more open and discoverable Youtube or even most of Youtube if they are a bit older but still underage for a real and unfiltered experience.

Although it launched in beta, I still haven’t had a chance to set it up, but with the new “Share with kids” option appearing in the Android share sheet, I’m willing to bet Google really starting to think of new ways it can allow adults to share interesting videos with kids at their discretion. I’m obviously not sharing Viva La Dirt League with my six-year-old, but I will be able to allow him to see more Austin John Plays content for the upcoming Pokemon Legends Arceus without temporarily disabling Family Link.

Let me know in the comments section if this shows up for you on Android 12, or any other Android version via link sharing in the official Youtube app. I hope that once shared, adults can revoke access to videos as easily as they can share them, and also that the ability to share entire channels can be added after the feature officially launches.