It can't scan links, but Facebook is looking into that for future versions, said Cheng. The app also uses technology to scan for inappropriate or sexual images. When they are texting and video chatting, kids can report problems or abuse, and parents will get an alert too.įacebook says all reports are handled by a team of human reviewers, but Loren Cheng, product management director for Messenger Kids, won't say how big the team is. Parents also have to be friends on Facebook for their children to be contacts on Messenger Kids. If a kid wants to add a contact, a parent needs to approve it. When they turn 13, Facebook won't automatically migrate the account to a regular Facebook or Messenger account, but kids can choose to create them.
Facebook messenger kids download#
Here's how the app works: After you download it, you create a new account for your kid. A partnership with the World Wildlife Fund shows kids facts about animals. There are also other augmented reality features like a game that lets you use the device's camera to look around the room and catch digital bugs. The app includes filters and lenses like those for Snapchat and Instagram that let you add digital graphics to your picture or video, like sunglasses or dog ears. The data also won't be used to target any ads. Messenger Kids won't have any advertisements or in-app purchases, and Facebook said it was developed in compliance with COPPA, the law that protects children's privacy online. "But it's not done in a controlled fashion." "They want to use messaging, and they use it today," said David Marcus, head of Messenger, during a press briefing in San Francisco last week. The company tested it with kids mostly between the ages of 6 and 11. Messenger Kids took 18 months to develop, and Facebook says the goal was to create a messaging app that puts parents at the center, because children use those kinds of apps anyway. YouTube, owned by Google, has faced controversy in recent weeks over people abusing the platform with disturbing videos and sexually inappropriate comments aimed at kids. Google announced something similar in March called Family Link, a set of Google services including Gmail built for kids 12 and under.īut Facebook has to avoid the pitfalls Google ran into with its products aimed at children.
Facebook messenger kids android#
It's only available in the US on Apple's iOS for now, but it's coming soon to Google Android and Amazon Kindle devices.Īs kids get increasingly comfortable with technology, the new app is a way for Facebook to get users into its ecosystem at an earlier age - especially when rivals like Snap enjoy popularity with young people. It's designed mostly for non-phone devices, like a tablet or iPod Touch.
But because many kids don't have phones - you need a phone number to create a regular Messenger account - Messenger Kids lets parents sign up their children using just the child's first and last names. The new app lets kids text and video chat with their family and friends.
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