Photographer: Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
Photographer: Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
Facebook Inc. is building a version of the Instagram photo sharing tool specifically for children under the age of 13, an effort to put its popular products in the hands of the next generation of Internet users.
The new app was announced internally on Thursday, but has not yet been released. Instagram currently requires users to be at least 13 years old. BuzzFeed News previously reported on Instagram Kids.
Instagram, purchased by Facebook nearly a decade ago for $ 1 billion, became one of its most popular products at a time when its main social network was failing to attract some younger users.
“More and more children are asking their parents if they can join apps that help them stay in touch with friends,” said Facebook spokesman Joe Osborne in a statement. “At the moment there are not many options for parents, so we are working on building additional products – as we did with Messenger Kids – that are suitable for children, managed by parents. We’re exploring bringing a parental-controlled experience to Instagram to help kids keep up with their friends, discover new hobbies and interests, and more. “
Messenger Kids is a version of the Facebook messaging app for pre-teens. This application includes several parental controls, but a flaw previously allowed some children to talk to people their parents did not approve of. The incident raised concerns among regulators that it did not adequately protect children.