According to recent reports, Facebook wants to create Instagram for Kids.
This report was first released by BuzzFeed News and has been confirmed by PEOPLE Magazine.
Instagram for Kids is a version of this social media platform that will be fit for children ages 13 and below.
Facebook owns the social media platform Instagram. Reports say that the creation of Instagram for Kids will be somewhat similar to Messenger Kids, released in 2017.
The current features of Instagram
Although the app is not entirely unsuitable for younger users, the platform is recently providing a version that has safety features for teens.
This feature means that the company is no longer allowing adults to send a direct message to minors who do not follow them.
Also, if the adult sending the message is exhibiting "suspicious behavior," the teen will be notified.
This suspicious behavior includes users or adults who keep on sending requests o messages to a lot of minors.
These changes in the application are set to be available by the end of the month in certain countries.
Aside from these changes, Instagram is also looking for other ways to keep teen users secured.
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Developing Instagram for Kids
In an article published by PEOPLE, a Facebook spokesperson shared that they decided to create Instagram for Kids because of the demand in children who expresses their interest to join different social media platforms.
According to the Facebook spokesperson, "Increasingly kids are asking their parents if they can join apps that help them keep up with their friends."
The social media giant also shared that the decision is also made because they want to provide parents options.
Instagram for Kids is expected to work like Messenger Kids, "... We're working on building additional products - as we did with Messenger Kids - that are suitable for kids, managed by parents."
The way Messenger Kids is that it's the parents who download the app on their child's device and approve the users that their children will interact with eventually.
How will Instagram Kids work?
According to a BuzzFeed News report, Instagram Vice President of Product Vishal Shah described this leap as prioritizing "youth work" in the company.
Instagram Kids is expected to be a new youth pillar. The app will be focused on two things. According to Shah, these are:
- Accelerating our integrity and privacy work to ensure the safest possible experience for teens
- Building a version of Instagram allows people under the age of 13 to safely use Instagram for the first time.
According to the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, they expect that this will entail a lot of work. However, they focus on providing a kind o Instagram that is for the young, and parents will have transparency or control.
