However, at this time, the section excludes Hulu and Netflix, two leading sources of kids entertainment.īecause kids will still be able to navigate away from the family channel, Roku is also introducing parental controls that can deny viewers access to certain programming without a pin number.

There are currently 30 participating partners, including premium channels like HBO, and 7,000 of the TV episodes are free of ads. As TechCrunch reports, its new parental controls will rely on partnerships with streaming and cable services to aggregate content onto the Kids & Family section. Roku’s parental controls are a bit more complicated since Roku is a device and not a streaming service. Spotify’s Family Plan will soon work better for actual families /iynVbNsDbU

The two new features are currently available in Ireland and will be rolling out elsewhere soon, though no timeline was provided. Each family mix playlist can be customized by who is around, making it a fun way for everyone to get a little bit of music that they like during game night or family clean-up.

Whoever is the master account on the family plan will be able to set parental controls on accounts, and other users won’t be able to switch them off without a passcode.Īnother new feature is the “Family Mix” playlist, which can create custom playlists based on individual listening habits. Previously, the only real distinction between the regular Spotify subscription and the family one was that it allowed you to have up to six accounts and profiles for $14.99 (individual premium subscriptions only allow one listener at a time and only one profile). As The Verge pointed out, this is one of the few things about the family plan that actually feels like it’s for a family. Spotify has added parental controls to its family plans, allowing parents to block music marked as explicit.

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