Social networking site has brought something for the kids too as it has launched its Messenger Kids app in more than 70 countries on April 22, 2020. The Help page of the social network has mentioned Japan, Brazil, India and New Zealand among the countries where the application has been launched. The social network also announced about the number of improvements that it is making on how the app works. Facebook had originally launched the Messenger Kids in the US in 2017 and had then launched in Canada and Peru in 2018.
Facebook said that thisis a time when most of the children across the globe are at home and have to learn their lessons remotely and the new Messenger will be a good tool for them due to which they decided to launch in other countries as well. Most of the schools have been shut down due as the governments have imposed lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook is constantly in touch regarding the instructions on how the app works and can be used by the children and their parents.
The parents will also have an option to allow their children to control their own friend requests instead of handling all the requests on their behalf. But the parents will continue to get notifications about the messenger friends that their children are making online. They can also override any connections if they want to. Moreover, the parents will soon be able to approve an adult who can be a teacher, another parent or a coach and can manage a group chat that will also involve the children.
The service might sound interesting, but it did have its own set of controversies in the past. An error had allowed the children to create group chats with the people that their parents did not approve. The loophole was criticized and the watchdogs pressurized Facebook to be more prompt in terms of security and privacy.
Photo Credits: The Verge
