Turning the feature on could lead to less pestering to add a friend and a shorter process. The passcode friend request is an optional feature that defaults to off - which means if parents don’t go in and change the Messenger Kids settings, nothing has changed. (Messenger Kids also originally required the parents of both kids to be friends before connecting on the platform, a rule that changed earlier this year.) Messenger Kids still requires parents to have a Facebook account, but the update may help simplify friend requests. Before the update, parents had to invite other parents in order for the kids to connect on the kid-friendly app. What the update does is simplify friend requests, particularly in instances where the parents aren’t also friends. You can now download Facebook’s Messenger app to your desktop Messenger’s encrypted chats pick up user-friendly features You can now use the Add Yours sticker on Reels for Facebook and Instagram Here is a small sample of the app from the US Apple Store and official information from Facebook. Whether it really gains popularity and will be launched in Europe and other continents, it remains a question. Messenger Kids is currently only available in the US. Mark Zuckerberg himself and other members of Facebook’s leadership are parents, so they deal with child safety issues and facilitate parents’ and children’s communication. 66% of these children have their own devices and use social media and messaging apps that do not have the special security settings Messenger Kids offers.Īlthough children may not use social networks until they are 13, there are unfortunately accounts with fake age, and this situation is difficult to trace. However, statistics show that 93% of children between the ages of 6 and 12 have access to tablets and smartphones. Messenger Kids, however, has a lot of opponents who oppose the use of technology by children of such a low age. In this case kids can set up their own Facebook account. As soon as the child reaches the age of 14, Messenger kids will no longer be available. However, if the child reports an inappropriate chat content, in this case, parents will receive an automatic alert. Parents do not see the conversation with children, so they need to check it on the child’s device, but have an overview of whom are their kids connected with. Children also have access to a limited amount of GIFs to avoid seeing inappropriate images. If a child wants to chat with one of classmates, for example, the parent must first authorize this connection. Contact with children is usually not searchable on the Internet because their privacy is under strict supervision. Using Messenger Kids, you can select contacts in the main Facebook app (for example, grandparents, aunts, godparents, close friends) with whom the child can be connected. A parent just must verify the account, then set up a mini-profile with the name and photo of a child. With this step, Facebook is building lifelong users and is consistent with the 2018 strategy that puts emphasis on communication between family members. Parents can therefore determine whom the child can be in contact with, which is great in terms of internet (un)safety and social networks for children. They have access to GIF libraries, stickers, masks, and drawing tools.įor example, if a child is going to contact mum, she will receive a message to a classic Facebook messenger which is compatible with Messenger Kids and does not have to install any new application. Children can start individual chat or group video calls with contacts approved by parents directly from the home screen. Messenger Kids offers a variety of features. This is why it is controlled through a parent’s Facebook account, so it does not require a child to be registered on the social network (which is not legally possible because children under 13 can not have a Facebook account). For now, you can only use it on their mobile and tablet, no desktop version is available.įacebook has conducted a survey among parents and parenting specialists and came to the conclusion that the app needs to be under parental control. It should make it easier for children to communicate with their family and friends when they can not be together. Messenger Kids allows kids aged 6 to 12 to send written messages, use a voice call or video chat. Children’s use of social network is a very discussed topic now, and in this case it is experiencing a negative feedback. The app was first launched for iOS only, but is now available for Android as well. At the end of last year, Facebook has introduced Messenger Kids – a special version of messenger designed for kids under 13 years which is focused on protecting kids’ privacy.
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