With over 2 billion users today, Facebook is already the world's biggest social network. But the company is looking ahead to tomorrow, and it's decided that a big new market of opportunity is with younger users.
To join Facebook or its free chat app Messenger, you need to be at least 13 years old. But Facebook on Monday announced Messenger Kids, a version of Messenger designed specifically for children younger than that. It's tied to a new account separate from regular Facebook or Messenger accountsThe new app lets kids text and video chat with their family and friends. But because many kids don't have phones -- you need a phone number to create a regular Messenger account -- Messenger Kids lets parents sign up their children using just the child's first and last names. It's designed mostly for non-phone devices, like a tablet or iPod Touch. It's only available in the US on Apple's iOS for now, but it's coming soon to Google Android and Amazon Kindle devices.
As kids get increasingly comfortable with technology, the new app is a way for Facebook to get users into its ecosystem at an earlier age -- especially when rivals like Snap enjoy popularity with young people. Google announced something similar in March called Family Link, a set of Google services including Gmail built for kids 12 and under.
But Facebook has to avoid the pitfalls Google ran into with its products aimed at children. YouTube, owned by Google, has faced controversy in recent weeks over people abusing the platform with disturbing videos and sexually inappropriate comments aimed at kids. Messenger Kids took 18 months to develop, and Facebook says the goal was to create a messaging app that puts parents at the center, because children use those kinds of apps anyway. The company tested it with kids mostly between the ages of 6 and 11.
