Why does it need my YouTube subscriptions?
Nothing exposes a child's YouTube Kids profile, so HeyGilli reads your
account's subscriptions — read-only, never posting or changing
anything — to build the list of channels you already trust, which you
then approve one at a time.
Can I use it without connecting Google?
Yes. Start without an account at all, then either import a Google
Takeout export or add channels yourself. Nothing about the screening
or the buddy depends on being signed in.
Does my child sign in, or give any details?
Never. You create their profile — a nickname you choose and an age,
no legal name, no photo. They never sign in, never type anything to
us, and never see the parent side without your PIN.
Is my child's voice recorded?
No. When they answer Gilli out loud, the speech is recognised on the
device itself and only the recognised words are sent — the audio never
leaves the device and is not stored.
Can they search, or wander off into other channels?
Only if you switch search on, and it is off to begin with. Otherwise
nothing reaches them from a channel you have not approved.
What happens to their watch history?
History is off by default and opt-in per import. When you do include
it, only an aggregate is kept — how much, when, which channels — and
the video-by-video list is discarded on your device. The
privacy policy sets out exactly what is
kept.
Can the screening get it wrong?
Yes, and it is built expecting to. A model reads each upload against
your answers; it can misjudge in either direction, which is why a
preference never hides a video outright but sends it to you. Use it
alongside knowing what your child watches, not instead of it.
Does it cost anything?
Not today, and no payment details are taken. Being straight about it
though: reading every upload costs real money per household, so if
this grows there will have to be a paid plan. Nobody will be charged
by surprise — you would be told well before anything changed for you.