But first, it’s worth pointing out a few things: The test is ongoing, and could take as long as six months, after which the company will evaluate whether it resulted in increased viewing and engagement times. If things work out, this is going to be rolled out to Netflix’s entire user base as an added feature set.

Also, Netflix typically tests a number of iterations with separate groups, which means that there are other implementations out there. And the final result could look very different from what you get to see here:

The test version showed separate viewing histories and recommendations for each profile. Users are able to fine-tune their profile by telling Netflix about their movie preferences, and profiles for kids under 12 are automatically based on the service’s Just for Kids UI. In addition, parents are able to restrict the type of content displayed on a kids profile based on movie ratings.

Netflix is typically testing these kinds of things on PC-based browsers as well as Sony’s PS3 first. I got to see a browser-based version, and don’t know if there’s also a PS3 implementation currently being tested.

I didn’t have a chance to play with the test too long, but I know that I’d like to see this come to my Netflix account sooner than later: As a parent, I often find all my movie recommendations dominated by kids titles – and as much as I like my kids, there are days when I want to watch other things than My Little Pony and Dragon Tales.

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Just for Kids replaces the traditional Netflix catalog grid with a more playful user interface. TV shows can be discovered by character, and each and every episode can be previewed with an image — no reading skills necessary. Xbox users can decide whether they want to access Just for Kids or the regular Netflix UI every time they start the app, or switch to the kids UI at any point. Check out the new UI in this video provided by Netflix:

Just for Kids was first introduced on the web, and has since been rolled out to the PS3, the Wii, the Apple TV, the Boxee Box and a whole bunch of other devices. It makes a lot of sense for Netflix, because kids content has proven to be extremely popular on the service — to the point where some wonder whether it is stealing away viewers from Nickelodeon.

Netflix’s big bet on personalization

But there’s more to it: Just for Kids also represents a first step towards a more tailored Netflix experience. Netflix has in the past put a lot of energy into personalization on the account level. It tracks every rating, every video played and pretty much everything else you’re doing on the service to recommend titles you might like.

Do your Netflix recommendations look like mine? No worries, help is on the way.

But if you have kids that watch a lot of Netflix, you’ll find that this system doesn’t really work. Sooner or later, all your recommendations are going to be about Hello Kitty, My Little Pony and Shaun the Sheep. The same is true for couples’ households, where Netflix can have a hard time recommending things that matter to both partners.

Netflix has said in the past that it wants to solve this problem by taking its personalization to the next level. Instead of just recommending titles based on your account, the company is considering the introduction of profiles for each and every family member in the household — complete with separate queues and recommendations. Netflix has said that it is going to test these kinds of profiles later this year.

Families are complicated

Why has it taken Netflix so long? Because this one is actually a tough problem to crack: To make personalization down to every member of the family work, users have to identify themselves when they’re watching, so Netflix knows whose behavior it is tracking. And that’s where Just for Kids comes in. Once a child has selected the separate UI, Netflix can also track its viewing separately and make sure that its titles don’t show up in its parent’s recently watched list.

But here’s the catch: The vast majority of Netflix viewing happens on TVs and connected devices these days, and chances are, there’s more than one person watching. Sometimes the whole family might want to watch a kids movie. Sometimes it’s just the kids by themselves. Sometimes you’re going to watch something together with your partner, while at other times you want to geek out on your own personal interests. Balancing this without making the experience too complicated is going to be a challenge for Netflix.

The good news is that Just for Kids might just be the first step to take on this challenge.

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Upon launch, the app prompts viewers to either access the regular Netflix experience or Just for Kids. The kids section adds TV show characters as categories and allows children to find episodes of a show without relying on text. Check out a few snapshots of Just for Kids on the Boxee Box below:

As you can see, there are still some kinks to be worked out with the little text that actually does get displayed.

Netflix launched a kid-friendly UI as part of its website in August of 2011. It began bringing Just for Kids to connected devices late last year, beginning with the Wii and then quickly rolling it out on the PS3 and the Apple TV. “More will follow through the course of this year, including Xbox and iPad,” I was told via email by a company spokesperson.

Kids content is undeniably one of Netflix’s key strengths, and the company has been adding numerous kids TV shows from PBS, Nickelodeon and others to its catalog. In fact, Netflix has been so successful with the youngsters that some blame it for Nickelodeon’s recent double-digits ratings drop. Both Netflix and Nickelodeon corporate parent Viacom have maintained that the service isn’t at fault for fewer kids watching Nickelodeon, but Bernstein Research’s Todd Juenger recently presented some data that makes a good case for Netflix really taking over kids TV.

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Users in the U.S. and Canada have long been able to stream to those devices, but availability on mobile and connected devices in newer markets should help Netflix gain traction in Latin America. After all, the service is most useful and engaging when it’s watched on a TV or tablet, as opposed to a desktop or laptop PC.

In addition, Netflix issued an update to its iPad app in all regions, giving users the ability to better navigate content. In a blog post on the update, mobile product manager Zal Bilimoria wrote that the new app is “much more immersive and provides greater focus on our growing catalogue by displaying twice as many titles than the previous interface.” The update is available with a free download from the Apple App Store.

Finally, Netflix is making its Just for Kids user interface available on Apple TV, which should improve discoverability and interactivity for the streaming company’s youngest users. With easy, character-driven navigation, Just for Kids aims to help children find the content they would most like to watch without having to search through non-relevant titles.

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We first spotted the new user interface, which lives under a new “Just for Kids” tab on the Netflix website, last week while it was still in test mode. Since then it’s been rolled out to all Netflix users, according to a blog post by Netflix VP of Product Innovation Todd Yellin.

The user interface seeks to appeal to kids in a number of ways: First of all, Netflix has found that children identify with show characters rather than the title of the show, so it’s highlighted some of the most popular characters in a scroll bar that runs across the top of the screen. It also highlights a number of “kid friendly” genres or themes, such as girl power, talking animals, superheroes, dinosaurs, princesses and robots.

For now, the “Just for Kids” interface is only available on the Netflix website. But Yellin says soon it will be rolling it out to other devices, such as the Nintendo Wii and Apple iPad, according to the blog post.

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