Facebook has launched Messenger Kids in 2017 after meeting with thousands of parents, parenting organizations, child safety advocates and child development experts about the need for a messaging app that lets kids have fun connecting with friends and family while giving parents control over the experience.
With two out of three parents wishing they had more control over their kids’ online experiences. Here, Facebook is announcing additional tools and features for parents to manage their child’s experience in Messenger Kids, and updating their privacy policy.
Parents can access these new features in the Messenger Kids Parent Dashboard in the Facebook iOS and Android apps to better understand how their child is using the app.
New Parent Dashboard features include:
- Recent Contacts and Chat History: See who your child is chatting with, whether they are video chatting or sending messages and how frequently those conversations happened over the past 30 days.
- Log of Images in Chats: See the most recent photos and videos your child has sent and received in their inbox. If you believe an image or video is not appropriate for your child, you can remove it from your child’s message thread and report it.
- Reported and Blocked Contacts History: Access a list of the reporting and blocking actions your child has taken in the app. You’ll see a list of the contacts your child has blocked and/or unblocked, if they have reported any messages as well as any contacts they’ve reported and the reason for their action. Parents will continue to be notified via Messenger if their child blocks or reports someone.
- Remote Device Logout: See all devices where your child is logged in to Messenger Kids and log out of the app on any device through the Parent Dashboard. (Note: This feature is not meant to control when kids have access to the app – try Sleep Mode for that.)
- Download Your Child’s Information: Request a copy of your child’s Messenger Kids information, similar to how you can download your own information within the Facebook app. The download will include a list of your child’s contacts as well as the messages, images and videos they have sent and received. Your child will be notified through the Messenger Kids app when you request this information.
You can access the Parent Dashboard and all these new features by tapping the shortcut menu in the Facebook app and scrolling to the Messenger Kids icon. If you have multiple kids using Messenger Kids, select the name of the child whose account you’d like to manage to access their specific dashboard.
A New Way to Block
Facebook has updated the way kids block contacts in Messenger Kids to give them a simpler way to manage who they interact with. Kids can now unblock a blocked contact on their own if they want to restart one-on-one chats with them, and chats with blocked contacts will stay in the Messenger Kids inbox so parents can view them if they’d like.
Kids and their blocked contacts will remain visible to one another and will stay in shared group chats, but will not be able to message each other individually. Kids will also receive a warning if they return to, or are added to, a group chat that includes a blocked contact, and can leave group chats at any time.
Parents remain in control of who their child is connected to in Messenger Kids and can remove people from their child’s contact list at any time. To get more information on how blocking works in Messenger Kids, visit the Help Center.
Helping Kids Understand How Their Information Is Used
As kids start using technology, Facebook think it’s important to help them understand how their information is used and shared. That’s why they developed an in-app activity that uses kid-appropriate language to educate kids on the types of information people can see about them. For example, They inform kids that people they know may see their name and photo, that parents can see and download their messaging content and that they are not able to delete any messages they send or receive.
Like any app, Messenger Kids requires data to operate basic functions, such as to show previous messages in a conversation, put frequent contacts at the top of the contact list and show the devices used to log in to a child’s Messenger Kids account.
Privacy Policy Update
When families choose Messenger Kids, parents trust Facebook to protect their children’s data and privacy, and Facebook take that responsibility seriously. They’ve updated the Messenger Kids privacy policy to include additional information about their data collection, use, sharing, retention and deletion practices.
The updated policy explains their privacy practices with regard to the new features and improvements they’ve added to Messenger Kids, such as new controls and visibility in the Parent Dashboard.
