All about Facebook Messenger Kids: What is it? How does it work?
Posted on: 24/Apr/2020 10:57:00 PM
Yes! Facebook has come up with a new version! It’s targeted at kids. Called Messenger Kids, the new messaging app is designed specifically for children between the ages of six and 12!
It does not require a Facebook account! The app is available in over 70 countries including India, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, and more. The app is now available on both iOS and Android.
What is Facebook Messenger Kids?
Facebook Messenger Kids is a standalone app! It allows kids to safely communicate with their family and friends via messages and video calls. It also allows kids to send images to each other. It is controlled via the parent’s Facebook account and does not require the child to create an individual Facebook account. Facebook says during these unprecedented times, the app will allow teachers to help kids keep on learning.
In retrospect, Messenger Kids was launched back in 2017 in the US. It expanded to Canada and Peru in 2018. The company claims that this wide roll-out is to help children stay connected with friends and are able to remotely learn while their schools remain closed during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
What are the new changes made to the app?
To make it more kid-friendly, Facebook has made a number of changes to the app. For instance, parents can now let the kids choose their own friend requests.
However, they will still receive notifications about the friend requests and will also be able to override any connections. Apart from this, parents will be able to make the children’s profile photos visible to friends of friends.
How to set up a Messenger Kids account?
- To set up a Messenger Kids account, you need to authenticate your child’s device using your own Facebook username and password. Here’s how to do it.
- Download the Messenger Kids app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
- Open the app and authenticate the device with your Facebook username and password.
- The app will then ask you to enter your child’s name.
- After you are done with that, the app is ready.
- You can then head over to your account on your device and access the parental controls panel for Messenger Kids to set limitations, add friends, keep a check on what your child is doing, and much more.
- To do that, you need to head to the Facebook app’s settings panel and tap on the ‘more’ option.
- There click on the Messenger Kids option and then tap Explore.
