YouTube Kids app content can now be consumed ad-free with YouTube Red integration

LOS ANGELES -- The YouTube Kids app is about to get more parent friendly.

The app, which launched in February of 2015, has been downloaded millions of times and amassed 10 billion views in a year.

Now, users can integrate the Kids app with the video giant's subscription streaming service, YouTube Red.

That means Kids App will finally have the option to access to ad-free videos, offline videos and uninterrupted music. YouTube Red, which rolled out in October, costs $10 per month.

"The primary reason is that it took us time to actually build that bridge between YouTube Kids and YouTube Red was because we really wanted to do it in the right way that really allows for parents to have that control," Malik Ducard, YouTube's global head of family and learning, told Mashable. "We’ve been building, we’ve been refining, we’ve been getting it right. We feel we’re at a great place to launch."

The news marks the latest in YouTube's efforts to make the app more family-friendly.

In May of last year -- just one month after the app's launch -- a string of children's advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission asking it to investigate whether the app exposes young audiences to unwanted commercials.

The ability to get an ad-free alternative was a way to address those concerns -- and build on suggestions given by parents to YouTube.

"We spend a lot of time testing it within our team but also getting feedback from people who care and parents who are likely to be users as well," Ducard said.

The platform is home to a handful of content ranging from Mother Goose Club to Talking Tom.

YouTube said in the next few months, more changes will also be made to the app itself, to "give parents more choice on how to customize the content that appears or doesn’t appear in their YouTube Kids experience."