Facebook suspends Instagram for Kids

Instagram

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced today that Facebook is suspending Instagram for Kids and creating new parental controls.

Over the past few months, reports that Instagram is developing an alternative for children have received a lot of negative press coverage, and some organizations have criticized Facebook for it. The authoritative resource The Wall Street Journal has published several stories about how bad Instagram for Kids is.

32% of teenage girls said that when they felt bad, Instagram made them feel worse. Instagram comparisons can change the way young girls see and describe themselves. - The wall street journal

Adam Mosseri has published an article stating that the company is suspending the development of the Instagram for Kids project and explains what the intentions of the project were:

We started this project to address an important problem in our industry: kids get phones, misrepresent their age, and download apps designed for kids ages 13 and up. We strongly believe that it is better for parents to be able to give their kids access to a version of Instagram designed for them, rather than relying on the app's ability to check the ages of children who are too young to have an ID.

While we insist on the need to build on this experience, we decided to put the project on hold. This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators to hear their concerns and demonstrate the value and importance of this project for young teens on the Internet today. - Adam Mosseri

He added that in the future, Instagram for kids will not be the same as it is now. Parental permission is required to join, there will be no ads, and content and features are age-appropriate. Parents can control the time their children spend in the app, decide who can send them messages, and keep track of them. The list of functions will expand.