Mumsnet users review Sky Kids App

[EllieMumsnet]

This activity is now closed

This is the feedback thread for the Mumsnet users who tested out the free Sky Kids app. Testers had to download the app and have a little play with all of its functions and features; the test was open to all UK MNers who had Sky Kids as part of their Sky package and have at least one child aged 2-10.

Here’s is some information on the app and what Sky has to say: The dedicated Sky Kids app: A world of entertainment for them, peace of mind for you. Featuring:
- Over 5000 episodes on demand
- 17 channels
- Parental controls such as bedtime settings, meaning you can stay in control
- Personal profiles with tailored, age-appropriate content
- Masses of fun and educational games and quizzes for all ages (currently only available on tablet, coming soon to mobile)

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?
• What was your favourite feature on the app?
• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?
• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

All testers who leave the required feedback will receive a £10 Amazon voucher each.

Thank you and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Yes, overall I wa satisfied with the app. It was easy to navigate around and the kids enjoyed picking their own character.

Yes it was easy to navigate around for both myself and both my kids. They were able to find the programmes and games they wanted themselves without my help.

My favourite feature was the game content as there was something for both my children to enjoy.

Yes I would recommend the app.

At the moment only being able to get all the content on a tablet and not mobile is a drawback. My kids often use my mobile whilst out of the home and they would not have the games function at present.

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
I really liked the app and how it made finding what the children wanted so much easier and clearer for them.

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes, my daughter took to it very quickly and found her way round things quicker than me! It is very visual which appeals and showed me that there were loads of programs and films we did not know where available to us. Perfect timing for the half term!

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

I liked the visual presentation of the shows, you could find a show and see all the episodes and series available in one go with an image to help remind us if we had seen it. It made it all seem very simple to follow. We also really liked the section that showed new episodes available so we could try some new shows.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes, it definitely helped my daughter find the shows she likes and allowed her to try new things.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

Maybe a section of available kids films to look through separately for that rainy Sunday afternoon when we are trying to find something for all the family. Really liked the app, will be using this with our kids.

- Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
I really liked it. It looked really fun & my son enjoyed being able to choose a buddy! The sounds were fun &, unusually for a kids app, not too annoying! :)
- Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?
Yes, it was very easy to use for both of us. My son is 5 & does get frustrated when using some kids apps as they can take a long time to load or he'll accidentally select the wrong thing as the screen is so cluttered, but that wasn't the case with the Sky Kids App.
I liked the white background - it made it appear uncluttered & it was easy to make out the different channels, characters & programmes.
- What was your favourite feature on the app?
We accessed the app on my mobile, so we weren't able to access the games unfortunately. My son enjoyed scrolling through the channels & recognised characters he has watched from those particular channels. It was a good way to categorise the different shows.
- Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?
Definitely, we really enjoyed our experience of the app. The bright, bold colours made it really fun & appealing.
- Do you think anything could be improved on the app?
The introduction of the games currently available on the tablet version will be a very welcome addition to the mobile version :)

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
I was very satisfied with the app

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

I thought it was really simple and easy to use, we normally use the sky go app to find children's TV shows for my little boy if we are out and about but the kids app makes it much easier. My little boy is 3, he's very visual with his choosing so it was nice that the choices were in picture form making it easy for him to pick his favourites easily.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

The simplified picture options and the fact I could limit the viewing options by age.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Definitely, I think it's brilliant we go away with family next month I will be recommending it to my sister for her little boy.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app

Nope, I think it's fab and wish I was aware of it sooner, using the plain sky go app for so long we would definitely have benefited had we known!

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

I thought it was extremely easy to navigate, however sometimes I would select a programme and it would throw me out of the app

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes really easy and my 3 year old could use it very successfully

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

The fact that it adapted to the age of the child

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

No

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?Very satisfied my youngest DD enjoyed the games and was able to access the programmes that she likes to watch.

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?Yes, very easy to navigate for both of us.
• What was your favourite feature on the app?Being able to tailor it to under 5's is a useful feature.
• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?Yes, especially for younger children as there is no worrying about the wrong content being accessed.
• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?Some newer episodes for Disney.

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Very satisfied. Keeps the children entertained, and has all the things on there they can find on the tv: it’s very easy to use, both my 2 and 9 year old love it

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Very easy, even my 2 year old can use it with Ease!

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

That the kids can both have their own Profile so they can find age appropriate things to suit them!

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes! Definatley; very easy to use; entertaining and doesn’t have the pop ups like YouTube etc

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

No I think it’s Great! Highly recommend

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Very satisfied, my children love it

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes, very user friendly

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

My boys liked choosing their own ‘buddy’; also that you have all channels together in one app

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Definitely.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

Offer online games that don’t require downloading first; more choice of busy icons

Testers please answer the following questions:

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Both myself and my 6 year old think this app is great! She has previously used the iPlayer app on her Kindle Fire but this has far more variety

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes. The homepage contained no programmes my daughter had heard of, but when we navigated to the channel selector we found all of her favourites.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

Love that the channels are separated for easy access, and that you can access lots of episodes eg Peppa Pig once you have selected this programme. My daughter likes to watch the same programmes in succession so this was perfect for her.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes definitely and we have downloaded it on all devices for use when out and about

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

As previous posters have said, a search function would be handy however it is easy to navigate without this. Perhaps a favourites tab where you could link to your child's favourite programmes

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

I loved the Sky Kids app, it has been tailored for children in mind, it's easy to use, when I downloaded it (after signing in to SKY) I was delighted to discover all of my 2 DS old’s favourites were right there to watch on demand. It's a bespoke app for youngsters,with a colourful logo to the easy navigation menus. I am impressed that I have a maximum of 10 profiles on the app !! so your child, siblings can all have their own preferences and security settings.

Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Once I had downloaded, and set up the profiles on the Ipad, it was super easy to choose which programme to use we loved browsing through the range of shows available, when we first used it we swapped between several during the first few minutes before settling on Paw Patrol – our favourite show. There are lots of episodes available and is very child-friendly, my DS picked up how to use it pretty quickly.

What was your favourite feature on the app?

My favourite feature is the parental control section, which is password protected, so your child can’t go in and amend the presets I have set (7 am to 6pm), the camera and age restrictions I have set this gave me assurance that when I am out of the room I have set what times the app can be used and age-appropriate content, plus it cannot be used when it's bedtime, so no hassles about extending the deadline.

Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes , I already have, when my niece and nephew can around, they saw the app on my DS Ipad and loved it, to I have recommended and it has been installed for my extended family.

Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

I think I would prefer to choose the channels themselves rather than between all junior channels or all older channels.

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Very - my 9 year old DD loved it. Kept her quiet for ages!

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes we did - she enjoyed exploring and quickly got the hang of where everything was.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

Games - without any hesitation from DD

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes, definitely

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

Search function

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

This app is great for the kids, keeps them busy👍

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

To start with it was a bit difficult to try and find what the kids wanted to watch. The characters featured at the start aren’t what the kids like so had to navigate several times through the different tabs to find what they wanted.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

The launch of the app is amazing with the colours and music. Also, the interaction were they can pick their own buddy right at the top is great and it features their name.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

I think all the channel tabs at the bottom featuring channels like Disney junior, Nick jr, babytv etc should be right at the top. This is easier for navigating the app. Rather than scrolling all the way down to find well known channels featuring prominent characters.

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
Really satisfied, one of the best apps I've downloaded in a long time

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes, me and my 7 year old found it really easy to use and even my 3 year old could use it once he'd been shown

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

Being able to set up different profiles for different children so that they were accessing appropriate programmes for them and also the timer!

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes definitely

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app? Nothing that I can think of

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Very satisfied. It had all of my sons favourite programmes on and was easy to use

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes very easy. My son has been using it for about a year and has never had an issur

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

The recently watched is good. I can see what hes been watching

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes definitely

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

A less busy home page and more updates/newer shows

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app? Very satisfied.
• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate? I found it easy to navigate and so did my 4 year old. In fact she showed me some games that I hadnt even realised she knew about already!
• What was your favourite feature on the app? I like the safe contact, we enjoy that it is so visual so my daughter can find her way around easily without being able to read.
• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family? I would def recommend as a safe online space and my daughter enjoys the programmes and games without me needing to look over shoulder all the time. I also downloaded some things to watch whilst we were on a long car journey.
• Do you think anything could be improved on the app? My daughter would like a wider range like on sky go she said! Personally I think the games could be more exciting

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
Very satisfied. The app has everything my daughters watch. They can play games and watch their favourite tv shows.

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes it was very easy to use and find exactly what you are looking for. My 4 and 3 year old daughters could use it easily.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

That they have all the shows under one section. My daughters love Nickelodeon so they could find their favourite shows all under one section.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes I would definitely recommend to family and friends.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

A search function

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
I liked having the cartoon on the app but to be honest I can get them all on Netflix and I player. What I really wanted was the ability to restrict time and which cartoons are available. So while this I was nice with what it did it didn't provide the features I hoped for.

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

The app is fairly easy to navigate. The simple icons and limited choices make it easy to pick a cartoon. I think the seasonal theming was a bit confusing for my daughter. Peppa acquired a witches hat.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

The simplicity of just clicking an icon and getting the cartoon up.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

If you have Sky, it a very simple way to get cartoons on a tablet.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

I was disappointed that you can't lock down exactly how much time you want cartoons to play for. I could just see a restriction of 5 max cartoons. I really would like to select which cartoons I want to be available for my child.

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
Very satisfied
Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?
Yes, it is very easy to navigate
What was your favourite feature on the app?
Being able to select age appropriate content
Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?
Definitely
Do you think anything could be improved on the app?
The games could be a bit buggy, but wasn’t sure if it was our iPad or not as it’s getting on a bit.

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

I was very satisfied with the app, as was my five year old daughter. We've had it for a while and it is usually the first app she selects when using her tablet.

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes, it was extremely easy to navigate. My daughter hasn't got much patience and she navigated to her desired programmes and games easily.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

The wide range of channels available, with programmes displayed via the channel they would be found on on Sky TV, which made it easy for my daughter to find her favourite programmes.

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes, I would however it would need to be made very clear that they also need the subscription required to access content.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

It was a little slow running however this may have been down to our slightly outdated tablet.

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?
My two 8 year olds really enjoyed it. They enjoyed having their own profile on there and the mix of videos and games.

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes. The children say they struggled to locate the games at first though.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

Child 1 - definitely the games. Child 2 - good choice of programmes to watch (lots of favourites on there)

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Both would recommend.

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

Make the button for games more prominent please. One of the children liked the Sports section but would have liked to see more videos on there - more than one video per sport. I would have liked to see a few more programmes on there in particular under CBBC as I would have liked the children to have had exposure to some new ones. Thanks for inviting us to test the app. We will definitely continue to use it as we have Sky. I think the ability to download programmes will be great for long journeys too,

Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Very happy, it was bright, colourful and appealing and I didn’t expect such a wide range of programmes to be available!

Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes, Myself and my nine year old found it very easy and my four year old soon got the hang of it once she had been shown a couple of times.

What was your favourite feature on the app?
Being able to download programmes to watch on long car journeys or in meeting where they needed to be quiet!

Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes I would

Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

The games could be developed a bit more as nothing really appealed to my nine year old.

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Very satisfied, means I could get the tv back for a while as daughter could watch kids programmes on the app rather then using the TV

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

Yes was easy to use, both myself and my 6 year old found it straight forward to use.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

Being able to drill down by Channel and kids being able to find the series she was after without too much difficulty

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes definitely

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

A search ability would be good, also not able to see the games just yet but not sure whether that is due to the fact app was being used on a phone

Me and my children like the sky kids app.

We found it really easy to navigate around

My son liked the personilsed section so he could have all his shows together not mixed with his brothers ‘baby’ shows

I would recommend it and already have to my friends

Not sure what could be improved as my children were very happy with it

• Overall how satisfied were you with the Sky Kids app?

Dd liked it a lot

• Did both you and your child find the app easy to use and navigate?

I certainly did, nice easy set up. Dd took to it like a giant thumbed duck to water.

• What was your favourite feature on the app?

Dds favouritevwas being able to change the character/avatars

• Would you recommend the app to your friends and/or family?

Yes we would

• Do you think anything could be improved on the app?

Dd said that at the bottom the present button on one of the game doesn’t indicate if you gain anything. She liked the games but would’ve liked a few more related to her favourite programmes.