Doing its part to keep the thousands who have self-isolated entertained, Amazon has opened up a selection of its family-friendly programming for free streaming. The Prime subscription paywall that is a usual requirement to watch Prime Video has been lifted for this selection and is available to stream right away (opens in new tab).
The only caveat is that you need to have an Amazon account, which in itself is free and very easy to set up.
The selection varies from region to region: while Amazon Originals are freely available worldwide, third-party or licensed programs will be different for each country.
For example, in the US, there are plenty of Amazon Originals as well as some third-party family-friendly programs, including PBS Kids shows like Arthur and Caillou. In Australia, though, there's only a handful of Amazon Originals available to view for free for kids up to the age of 11, with no licensed content currently available.
- How Covid-19 can live on your phone, and how you can clean it
- Amazon Prime Video gets Netflix-style profiles
- Free self-isolation educational and entertainment resources
Amazon has said it will be working to improve the selection in the coming days, as the current crop of free streaming content seems aimed at younger kids of pre-school to primary school age. It could be a way for parents struggling to work from home to cope while having their children around as there aren't any movies in the selection that adults might enjoy watching as well.
Every little bit helps, though, with families around the world now stuck indoors to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
