A quick note before we get into this one: promoting Kids Mode is entirely optional. Some libraries love having a dedicated, locked-down mode to point parents toward. Others prefer to let patrons of all ages browse the full catalog without a separate, gated experience, and that’s just as valid a choice. This post is here for libraries who want it. Feel free to skip this one if Kids Mode isn’t part of how your library talks about Hoopla.
Parents have a lot going on.
Picture dad handing over a tablet so they can get dinner on the table, or mom settling a restless kid into a car seat for a long drive. In that moment, what they want most is simple: a way to hand over a device without also handing over the whole internet.
That’s the situation Hoopla’s Kids Mode was built for, and it’s worth understanding how it works before deciding whether to bring it up with patrons.
What Kids Mode does
Kids Mode limits the Hoopla app to a curated selection of age-appropriate content: kids’ movies, TV shows, books, and audiobooks, and nothing else. It’s locked behind a PIN, so switching in or out requires an adult to enter a code.
For a parent who hands a tablet or phone to a child, that PIN lock is the whole point. It turns a filtered view into a space a child can’t wander out of on their own, whether they’re looking for a bedtime story or just bored on a car ride.
Why this might matter to your library
Plenty of families already lean on kid-specific apps and devices because of the reassurance that comes with them: a parent knows that a “kids” product means their child won’t stumble into something unintended. Hoopla’s Kids Mode brings that same reassurance to a platform your library already provides, without asking families to download or manage a separate app.
That can be a useful thing to have in your back pocket when you’re talking with parents and caregivers about what your library offers for young patrons, especially those who are newer to Hoopla or still deciding how much independence to give a child on a shared device.
How to talk about it (if you choose to)
If you decide to promote Kids Mode, simple, parent-facing language tends to work best. Something like: “Hoopla’s Kids Mode gives your child their own locked space with age-appropriate content only. Turn it on with a PIN, and they can’t wander outside of it.”
Keep the framing practical rather than alarmist. The goal is reassurance, not a warning about what could go wrong.
The choice is yours
Kids Mode isn’t a requirement, and it isn’t for every library.
Some will find it fits neatly into how they already talk about youth services and digital safety. Others will decide their patrons are better served by keeping things simple and skipping a dedicated mode altogether. Either way, it’s there when you want it: for the libraries and families who find real value in a little extra peace of mind.
