Messenger Kids was first launched in 2017, in the United States, and in Peru, the application has been available for approximately two years. After talking with thousands of parents, organizations and child safety advocates, they agreed to have more control over the experience their children have online.
Given that two out of three parents want to know what their children’s interactions are like online, Facebook has continued in dialogue with parents and experts around the world to ensure a messaging application that works properly for all families.
In this way, the company presented new functions and tools so that parents can manage their children’s experience in Messenger Kids, from the new updates in the privacy policy.
The relatives of the child can make use of these new functions in the parent panel of Messenger Kids in Facebook applications on Android and iOS. This is how they can have control, for security, of how the child uses the app.
“It is important to give parents the power to manage their children’s experience, such as seeing what images and videos their children send and receive. It’s satisfying to see that Facebook provides additional information without overwhelming parents with too much detail, ”said Larry Magid, Internet security lawyer and CEO of ConnectSafely.org
NEW FEATURES OF MESSENGER KIDS
Recent contact and conversation history: Parents will be able to see who their child is chatting with, if they are chatting via video or sending messages and how often these conversations occur in the last 30 days.
Recording images on chats: you can see a list of the most recent photos and videos that children have sent and received in their inbox. If they believe that an image or video is not suitable for their child, they may remove it from the child’s messages, in addition to reporting it.
History of reported and blocked contacts: they will be able to access a list of the reporting and blocking actions that their children have performed in the application. A list of contacts that have been blocked and/or unlocked will appear, if they have reported any message or contact and the reason for this action. Parents will continue to receive notifications via Messenger if their children blocked or reported someone.
Remote device logout: you can see all the devices on which your child has signed in to Messenger Kids and log out for the application on each device through the main control panel
Download your child’s information: a copy of your child’s Messenger Kids information can be requested from the Parent Panel, similar to what your own information could download in the Facebook application. The download will share a list of the child’s contacts, as well as the messages, images and videos that you have sent and received. Children will be notified through the Messenger Kids application when this information is requested.