NEW DELHI: Joining the race to grab the attention of young children, Google on Wednesday launched the beta version of its ‘Bolo’ app to help primary grade children improve Hindi and English reading skills while ensuring that the app does not send out data on children.

“Nothing is ever sent to Google through the app,” Nitin Kashyap, Product Manager, Google India, told IANS, adding the app is meant for just 10-15 minutes of daily use.

Because the app works offline, there is less chance of children getting distracted and start doing something else online, he said.

The Bolo app is first-of-its-kind for Google as it has not launched an app targeting primary grade children anywhere else in the world.

The announcement comes barely a week after the operators of Chinese video social networking app TikTok agreed to pay $5.7 million (nearly Rs 40 crore) to settle the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that the company illegally collected personal information on children.

The Google Bolo app can be Downloaded from Google Play Store, in India, for all smartphones running Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and higher. There is no word as to when this app would be rolled out to other mobile platforms as well.