Photographer: Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
Photographer: Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
Facebook Inc. is building a version of Instagram, the photo-sharing tool specifically for children under 13, in an attempt to get its popular products into the hands of the next generation of internet users.
The new app was announced internally on Thursday, but has not yet launched. Instagram currently requires users to be at least 13 years old. BuzzFeed News previously reported on Instagram Kids.
Purchased by Facebook for $ 1 billion almost a decade ago, Instagram has become one of the most popular products at a time when the main property of social networks was not resonating with some younger users.
“Increasingly, children are asking their parents if they can join apps that allow them to keep up with their friends,” Joe Osborne, a Facebook spokesperson, said in a statement. “Right now, there aren’t many options for parents, so we’re working to build additional products – like we did with Messenger Kids – that are suitable for children, managed by parents. We’re exploring to bring a parent-controlled experience to Instagram to help kids keep up with friends, discover new hobbies and interests, and more. “
Messenger Kids is a version of Facebook’s messaging app for pre-teens. That app includes some parental controls, however Due to a mistake, some children were more likely to be able to chat with people who had not approved their parents. The incident raised concern among regulators that it did not adequately protect children.