Facebook's Controversial Messenger Kids App Now Available on Android
Facebook's controversial Messenger Kids application is now available on Android, a couple of months after it was first introduced on iOS.
TechCrunch was first to report that the Messenger Kids app rolled out on Google Play on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
The messaging app was designed especially for children aged six to 12 as a safe means of communication with family and friends. Its strict security features allow parents to control who they can connect with through the app, with a pre-approved contact list.
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At the same time, it includes a video chat feature that kids can play around. It includes a "library of kid-appropriate and specially chosen GIFs, frames, stickers, masks and drawing tools lets them decorate content and express their personalities," according to a Facebook blog post. When it launched on Android, it included Valentine's Day stickers of hearts and red lips, just in time for the season of love.
Facebook first launched Messenger Kids on iOS in early December. This was followed a month later by an Amazon launch for Fire tablets.
Messenger Kids is the first attempt of any major social networking platform to create an app made especially for those below 13 years old, the required age to join Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, and Snapchat.
But despite Facebook's noble intention of creating a form of communication meant especially for kids, many parents and industry experts wonder whether they should be using a messaging app at all.
Some view it as a way of Facebook asking parents to trust it as a medium to take care of their kids.
In a blog post, however, Facebook assured parents that there is no way the kids are exploited within the app. "There are no ads in Messenger Kids and your child's information isn't used for ads. It is free to download and there are no in-app purchases," Facebook wrote.
