Galen Dow felt compelled to do something when he discovered his 12-year-old daughter watching an inappropriate video on YouTube Kids. The St. Albans entrepreneur developed GoCaboodle, a free, parent-controlled app that gives families a safer way to access kid-friendly online content.
The app allows parents to filter the material their kids can access by creating “caboodles,” or playlists, of specific YouTube videos.
“Caregivers are creative, and they’ll organize content around their kids’ interests,” said Dow, who owns several marketing companies.
Launched last November, the app allows users to search for videos and playlists based on categories such as animals, sports and science. Parents can also share with other parents the caboodles they’ve made for their kids.
News has been a popular category, which surprised Dow.
“People want their kids to know what’s happening,” he said.
Dow blames the algorithms used by large tech companies for the proliferation of inappropriate content on platforms such as YouTube Kids. He said the system incentivizes the creation of senseless videos featuring popular characters to lure children in for clicks and streams rather than to promote their development. He once found his daughter, for instance, watching an animated video of “SpongeBob SquarePants” characters reenacting scenes from the R-rated horror movie Saw.
“Big Tech does not give a fuck about your kids,” Dow said.
He has joined the growing ranks of those advocating for greater regulation of social media and the internet to protect children from exploitation. Late last year, Australia banned children under 16 from accessing social media, spurring more than 20 other countries to enact similar laws.
Dow said he and his team of developers have been working on making the app even easier for parents to use. He said they have added new features, such as time limits for children.
About 1,000 people have already started using GoCaboodle, and Dow said he hopes the recent updates will attract more. He said it comes down to one simple question: “Is creating a meaningful and safe online experience for your youngsters worth 10 to 20 minutes every other week?”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Vouching for Videos”
This article appears in July 29 • 2026.
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