The streaming service Cliq attracts customers with a wide range of multimedia offerings for films, series, sport, music, audio books and games. One app, all in one, so to speak. The service also aims to be the cheapest provider in Germany. We explain what’s behind it.
Cliq is a streaming service with a diverse selection: numerous German and international films, often rather older, but also blockbusters, slightly fewer series with documentary and history series, sports broadcasts, music with video, but without your own playlists, various cloud games and some audio books, albeit without a timer function. Cliq offers practical functions such as download options, parental controls and simultaneous streaming on several devices without advertising for games and audio books. In contrast to the competition, there is only one subscription model with which all multimedia areas can be accessed. There is also a rental model; the subscription includes one rental film per month.
Cliq addresses the needs of children and young people at different stages of their lives by offering age-appropriate content. Under “Kids” there is an area for children with a manageable selection of older entertainment media: from children’s films to animated series, music stations to romp around or fall asleep to games. The “Kids” service is aimed at children under the age of 12, which is why all films, series and games there have an appropriate age rating. Most videos are labeled with the statutory age ratings of the FSK (Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry), i.e. FSK 0 or FSK 6.
Much of the content on the streaming service is not suitable for children and young people and can be frightening or problematic. Parents should protect their profile with a PIN and set up a special children’s profile. In the children’s profile, films and series are marked with the corresponding official age ratings. However, nothing can be filtered so that all content up to the age of 12 is always visible and therefore clickable for children. Music, audio books and games have no visible age rating or recommendation on Cliq. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to tell from the covers what age it might or might not be suitable for.
For many games, it is absolutely incomprehensible why they can be found in the children’s area at all. Games with an official age rating of 16 or 18 (such as USK 18 or PEGI 18) can be found there without any indication. This gives parents a false sense of security. Children should never play there unsupervised.
From the age of 13, young people at Cliq are assigned to the adult area. There, they are confronted with all available content completely unprotected – including content that is not suitable for their age. There are no age ratings and no corresponding recommendations or filter functions.
The youth protection laws in Germany require that all content (games/films) have an appropriate age rating and a corresponding protective measure – neither of which Cliq currently fulfills.
The appeal of spending a lot of time on a streaming service is very high. Here, personal responsibility is required to limit one’s own viewing time . What is already difficult for some adults is even more difficult to control for children and even teenagers.
The provider emphasizes the importance of data protection and security and provides parents with tools to monitor and restrict usage. Parents can protect their profile with a PIN and set up a special children’s profile.
Use the child profile and protect it with a secure PIN (no dates of birth or simple sequences such as 1234) so that your child cannot switch between profiles. However, be sure to check the age ratings of films, series and games yourself. Accompany your child when using media. Be approachable when questions or fears arise. And watch your child when they are watching videos or playing games. Keep an eye on how much time your child spends on the streaming service. Binge-watching can also occur in children and young people, for example.
Select content together and define media rules together with your child. And keep yourself regularly informed about current functions and parental control settings.
In our video series “You ask – we answer,” our media educator Melanie Endler explains why you shouldn’t leave children alone when watching series:
The streaming portal RTL+ offers the opportunity to watch Mediengruppe RTL shows free of charge for seven days after they air – and some for longer than that. Premium members also have access to specially produced content and other functions. The free content is financed by advertising. Parents have the option to create a profile for their child so they can stream age-appropriate series, movies and shows ad-free.
RTL+ is the video-on-demand service of Mediengruppe RTL. Once an account has been created, the RTL+ Free package can be used to stream certain channels live or watch them seven days later. Premium members also have permanent access to broadcasts and other formats in the archive. Since 2019, the platform has offered films and series produced in-house, the RTL+ Originals. Paid premium membership opens up access to the mobile app, in-house productions and the ability to watch content before it airs on TV. The Premium Duo package additionally offers advertising freedom, parallel streams and some content in original English.
All registered users can create up to three profiles. These can be divided into adult and child profiles. Children only have access to the Family and Kids section via their own profile. This way, you can make sure that your child only has access to age-appropriate content. The formats in the Family and Kids sectionscan also be streamed commercial-free.
The RTL+offering combinesthe TV programming of several channels and thus offers something for younger children and teenagers alike. Among the younger audience, the children’s channels Super RTL and Toggo are particularly popular. In addition to new productions, classics such asJanosch’sDream Hour, Fünf Freunde and Benjamin Blümchen are also broadcast there. Missed programs can be easily re-watched by the children through RTL+. You have also worked with RTL+ Kids their own area, where the formats are sorted into different categories and genres. This makes it easy for children to find their way around and make their own choices.
If you register free of charge with RTL+ , you have the option of creating your own profile for your child, through which he or she can only watch age-appropriate formats. Premium members can also set up a parental control PIN that is valid for all profiles. You can define the age limit from which the PIN is to take effect.
Registered persons without membership cannot create a PIN, but have the option to install the independent and free youth protection program JusProg. You can find out whether programs and films are suitable for your child’s age and how he or she processes the content shown by using the Flimmo program guide.
In addition to the content you watch, keep an eye on how much time your child spends in front of the screen and with media overall. Therefore, arrange fixed times or specific shows that your child is allowed to watch. If you’re not sure how much time is appropriate, you can find more information and suggestions in our post on media time .
For a few weeks now, the Netflix series“Squid Game” has been making headlines. One reason is that it is so successful. On the other hand, it is also reported that many children watch the series and act out scenes from it with other children. However, the series contains very brutal scenes and is therefore marked with an age rating of 16. Topics that are problematic and overwhelming for children include organ trafficking and depictions of sadism.
Make sure that your child cannot watch the series at home if he or she is not yet 16 years old. To do this, you can set parental control settings on Netflix. If your child has a child profile, then he or she will not be able to view content that is not age-appropriate. You can also protect an account with a PIN. For more information, click here.
Your child may still watch the series or come into contact with it, for example, at school, through friends, or in apps and onlien games. Even young people who are already 16 years old or older sometimes cannot process the violence in the series themselves. If your child has had an unpleasant experience with the series, be sure to talk about it with your child and convey that the story in the series has little to do with reality.
More information for parents and suggestions for dealing with the series can be found on the following websites:
Amelie, now 28, says she learned English from the lyrics of rapper Eminem. Many adults probably feel the same way. Through “television” via streaming platforms, a similar phenomenon has emerged: English or other languages are learned virtually incidentally by watching the series in the original. Does this really work and does it also work for children?
The foundations for language learning are laid in early childhood. If your child hears foreign languages at an early age, it may be easier for him to learn languages later in school. Watching favorite movies or series like Harry Potter for older kids or Peppa Wutz for the younger ones can be a way and combine learning and fun.
Most children can already understand whole sentences out of context. Pictures and sounds help. Translating individual words is not necessary. This makes it easier for them to watch movies in other languages. If their favorite show is in English, children often don’t even realize that they’re not listening to their native language. They also like to watch episodes and movies endlessly. By already knowing what is happening, they understand the content better in another language and learn English words virtually along the way.
On most platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or YouTube, it is possible to watch movies and series in the original language – often English. You can usually change the audio language in the bar below the video, where you can also pause the video. The language can be changed before or even during the movie.
Often you can additionally display subtitles, e.g. in German or English. This can help teenagers or adults with comprehension if you don’t understand every word spoken. At first glance it may seem more complicated, but the brain quickly gets used to reading along. If the subtitles are also in English, you perceive the “foreign” language with different senses (hearing, seeing), which makes it even more memorable.
Some children have an easier time with foreign languages than others. Once your child has learned some basics at school, watching movies and series in English can help reinforce the new language. It can also be an incentive and motivation especially for young people to increase their own vocabulary in order to watch English movies in the original language even more “relaxed”. For many, it’s even “cooler” to watch the hot series in the original.
Of course, your child should only watch series and movies that are appropriate for their age. Info on how to guarantee this can be found at the parent guide here.
Watching movies in English should be seen primarily as a tool and (unfortunately) does not replace vocabulary cramming. Also, make sure that your child enjoys it and that it does not turn into a chore that is done unwillingly.
