How a video earns its place
Piko is an allowlist, not a filter. Nothing appears in the library because an algorithm failed to catch it; everything appears because it passed 40+ individual checks and a final review pass. Roughly 1 in 14 candidate videos makes it in. This page is the whole process, written down, so you can judge it for yourself.
Step 1 · Channels worth trusting
We don't trawl all of YouTube. We start from 300+ channels chosen by hand: the Blueys and BBCs, and brilliant small creators most parents never find. A channel earning a place on that list doesn't get its videos waved through, it gets its videos considered. Every single one is still checked on its own.
Step 2 · The 40+ checks, per video
Each candidate video goes through the same battery of checks. They fall into four groups, and they're the things you'd check yourself if you had the evening free (you don't, that's rather the point).
Violence, disturbing imagery, fear triggers by age (monsters, darkness, separation, loud noises), ads in disguise, and content that's technically fine but feels off.
We measure average shot length. Hyper-edited content with sub-2-second cuts is rejected outright, however popular it is. Slow, steady footage scores what it deserves.
Whether a video settles a child, lifts them, or winds them up, mapped to the Zones of Regulation. Every video gets scores for settling a wound-up mood and lifting a flat one.
Sensory intensity (flashing, volume spikes, high-pitched audio), presenter style, and suitability flags for autism, ADHD, PDA, anxiety and low-demand needs.
Step 3 · The scores you see everywhere
The numbers on every video page come straight from those checks: the settle and lift scores, the average shot length, the sensory rating, the age band and the SEN flags. Top-10 lists are ranked using the same measured data, and when a blurb says a video scores 85 for settling a wound-up mood, that's the stored number, not copywriting.
Step 4 · The review desk says no a lot
Nothing is published without a final pass, and nearly right isn't in. That final gate is why roughly 13 out of every 14 candidates never appear: too fast-cut, too shouty, too ad-adjacent, or just not good enough to earn a child's attention. The rejects include plenty of videos with millions of views. Popularity was never one of the checks.
What this doesn't mean
No process is perfect, including this one. Videos live on YouTube, and YouTube changes: a video can go private, a channel can change direction, and a check that passed last month describes last month. We re-check and retire videos on an ongoing basis, but if something in the library looks wrong to you, we genuinely want to know: hello@heypiko.co.uk. It will be looked at, and if it fails on a second look, it goes.