Facebook has announced that it’s launching its Messenger Kids app in over 70 new countries. Facebook’s website has listed Brazil, India, Japan, and New Zealand among the countries where the kid-focused messaging service is now available. Facebook also announced a number of tweaks it’s making to how the app works.

Facebook had launched Messenger Kids in U.S in 2017. and expansion into Canada and Peru in 2018. Facebook says that it’s launching in more countries as children around the world are having to learn remotely while schools remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the expansion, Messenger Kids has also been updated with new features. One of the major changes on the app is the addition of Supervised Friending that enables parents to choose to allow their kids to accept, reject, add, or remove contacts — all while maintaining the ability to override any new contact approvals from the Parent Dashboard. The new feature is initially rolling out in the US, though it will gradually reach other markets.

Facebook is also tweaking how children and their parents can use the service. Parents can now opt in to letting their children control their own friend requests rather than having to manage every request on their behalf. However, parents will still receive notifications about the Messenger friends their children are making, and can override any connections if they wish.

Groups are also changing. Parents will soon be able to approve an adult — such as a teacher, coach, or another parent — to manage a group chat with their children in it. Finally, parents will also be able to opt-in to make their kids’ names and profile photos visible to friends of friends in the US, Canada, and Latin America.

Messenger Kids will start rolling out in the new markets starting with immediate effect.  Meanwhile the new friend request and group functionality will be available in the US, with an international roll out to follow.

The  app through its core design and philosophy encourages kids to enter the world of social networks that could impact their lives just like adults are being affected by social media. Also, it gives the company a way to expand its user base and get new datasets that would help improve its overall algorithms.

Source- The verge