Facebook has announced new tools and features for parents to manage their child’s experience in Messenger Kids.
Parents can access the new features in the Messenger Kids Parent Dashboard in the Facebook iOS and Android apps to better understand how their child is using the app.
The new Parent Dashboard lets parents see who their child is sending messages to, whether they are video chatting or sending messages, and how often those conversations happened over the past 30 days.
This update also lets parents see the most recent photos and videos their child has sent and received in their inbox. If they think an image or video is not appropriate, they can remove it from the thread and even report it.
Parents will now see a list of the contacts their child has blocked and/or unblocked, if they have reported any messages, as well as any contacts they’ve reported and the reason for their action. Parents will continue to be notified via Messenger if their child blocks or reports someone.
All devices where a child is logged in to Messenger Kids will show up for parents.
They can also log out of the app on any device through the Parent Dashboard, but it's not meant to control when kids have access to the app. You can try Sleep Mode for that.
Parents are now able to request a copy of their child’s Messenger Kids information, similar to how you can download your own information within the Facebook app.
The download will include a list of the child’s contacts as well as the messages, images and videos they have sent and received.
Kids will be notified through the Messenger Kids app when you request this information.
If you have multiple kids using the Messenger Kids app, you can select the name of the child whose account you’d like to manage to access their specific dashboard.
The social media site says parents are still in control of who their child is connected to in the Messenger Kids app and can remove people from their child’s contact list at any time.
Facebook also developed an in-app activity that uses kid-appropriate language to educate kids on the types of information people can see about them.
