Rebecca Oku, head of UK content licensing for Yoto, came to The Bookseller’s Children’s Conference to tell us all about how the Yoto is evolving the world of children’s audiobooks. Yoto Co-founders Ben and Filip wanted a way for their children to be able to access the digital world of audio, without exposing them to the negatives of the internet at such a young age. Inspired by a love of tech and Montessori teaching practices, the Yoto was born.

Yoto at its core is an audio platform, that can be controlled and accessed from the Yoto players. The players come in two different sizes, the Yoto Player and the smaller Yoto Mini. The Yoto Players operate similarly to a Walkman or cassette player, the listener inserts a card that corresponds to their desired story. There is no way for the children listening to be monitored or recorded. Yoto Players have no way of collecting data or displaying advertisements to the child listeners. Sound cards are also purchased directly from the Yoto website, meaning that parents have complete control over what their child has access to.

Yoto is not just limited to audiobooks. They have a wide variety of programs to choose from. The Yoto Players offer stories, music, podcasts, radio, sound effects, and activities. Their most popular service is their stories, but soundscapes are quickly growing in popularity. These soundscapes range from soothing sounds to assist with falling asleep to exciting sound effects that act as world building tools for enhancing creative play. Another interesting feature of the Yoto is their Make Your Own cards. These blank Yoto cards are sold in a pack of ten and allow the user to record their own audio onto them to then be played through the Yoto Player. This means that children could practice their reading and record their own stories, or a long distance loved one could be a part of the child’s routine from far away. Another fun feature of the Yoto players is the free daily podcast that each player has access to. This podcast is called Yoto Daily, and on it they feature fun facts, jokes, and daily birthday shoutouts that parents can submit in advance.

At the end of the day, the services that the Yoto provides are not revolutionary. There are people out there making free children’s audiobooks on sites like YouTube, soundscapes are also widely available and free on the internet, children’s podcasts already exist. However, these services are only accessible through the wider internet, and many young parents are not comfortable letting their children have that kind of access and exposure. It’s no secret that websites like YouTube and Amazon are collecting and selling our data, and they don’t make exceptions for children.

The Yoto doesn’t just offer accessible audiobooks and fun soundscapes, it also offers data privacy for the children that use them, and that’s priceless.

Photo by Taylor Heery via Unsplash