PBS KIDS Games

PBS KIDS Games Review: 280+ Free Games, With Offline Play Back After Cuts

280+ Free Games From Daniel Tiger to Weather Hunters, With No Paywall

Nothing in the catalog is locked. Google Play shows neither a Contains ads nor an In-app purchases label, and the App Store lists no purchases. The home screen is built for children who cannot read yet: a column of character portraits runs down the left edge, and each show has its own page, such as Daniel Tiger's with Look Closely and My Bedtime. The store listing counts more than 280 games from over 20 series, from Wild Kratts and Sesame Street to newer arrivals like Weather Hunters, and 50-plus of them play in Spanish. PBS aims the set at ages 2 to 8, while the App Store files it under Made for Ages 0–5. Most titles are short: mazes, matching, dress-up, coloring, counting and letters.

Offline Downloads: Cut in the January 2026 Relaunch, Restored in June

Version 6.0, dated January 7, 2026 on the App Store, rebuilt the app around streaming. PBS replies on Google Play describe a stream-first design that opens games without using device storage, and say downloads were left out of that launch because of funding cuts to PBS KIDS. For about five months, parents reported, only a handful of preset games ran without a connection. Downloads came back in June 2026, in version 6.7.0 on Android and 6.8.0 on iOS. A parent setting caps how much storage downloaded games may take. Glitches remain: a July 2026 Google Play review describes downloaded games showing as not downloaded again after the app was closed.

Google Play Says No Data Collected; Apple's Label Lists Usage Data

Google Play's Data safety form declares that the app collects and shares no user data, PBS has committed it to the Play Families Policy, and the listing carries Google's Teacher Approved badge. Apple's privacy label is less absolute: it lists product-interaction usage data, used for analytics and not linked to identity. The PBS KIDS privacy policy, last modified May 12, 2020, says PBS does not collect information that identifies a child on its own, requires no account, takes a ZIP code and rough location only to show local-station content, and will not use children's personal information for marketing or advertising. The PBS help center answers its question on COPPA compliance by pointing to that same policy. Read the PBS KIDS privacy policy before relying on either label.

Why It Is Free: Public Money, Versus Khan Academy Kids and Toca Boca Jr

Public media money and sponsors pay for the games, and that money has shrunk. Education Week reported in January 2026 that the Department of Education ended the Ready To Learn grant in May 2025, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced its closure on January 5, 2026, and PBS KIDS and its producers lost nearly $30 million. PBS KIDS cut its staff by 30% and retired 78 games from its website, and a spokesperson said some apps and downloadable games were paused. Khan Academy Kids, from a nonprofit, is also free for ages 2 to 8, with no ads or subscriptions. Toca Boca Jr, by contrast, sells a $7.99 plan on the US App Store. Prices vary by region, so check the store.