Facebook working on Instagram for children under 13
What's the story
Facebook is building a version of Instagram for children. The company had reportedly announced the app internally on Thursday, but it is not yet launched for public use. Presently, Instagram is restricted to teenagers (13 or older), but the new version will allow children under the age of 13 to use the photo and video sharing app.
Strategic move
Getting children addicted to Instagram before they can use TikTok
Facebook had paid an eye-watering $1 billion for Instagram in order to capture younger audiences who don't consider Facebook cool enough. However, Instagram had been increasingly losing that very demographic to TikTok. By allowing younger children to register, Facebook intends to get future generations addicted to Instagram long before they are old enough to join TikTok, thereby making it a brilliant strategic move.
Parental oversight
Instagram Kids could use Messenger Kids model of curated experience
Facebook is positioning this as a move to fulfill children's demands to connect with their friends. The child-friendly version of Instagram is likely to have parental oversight to make it a relatively safer experience. Messenger Kids is a good example, where parents have control over their children's interaction. However, a flaw in the app allowed children to interact with unauthorized persons prompting security concerns.
Catching 'em young
Facebook will leverage AI, ML to detect real age
The latest development coincides with this week's report on Facebook leveraging AI and ML to detect underage children who lie about their age to join Instagram. Facebook could likely use this technology to direct these children to install the child-friendly version of the app. Facebook's blog post announcing the feature on Tuesday clearly paved the way for the internal announcement of Instagram for kids.
Dirty tactics
Zuckerberg knows catching them young is key to beating rivals
Facebook's oxymoronic quest to keep children safe on social media is driven more by pure greed than altruism. Case in point: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg keeps his own kids off social media. However, Zuckerberg knows that getting children addicted to his products, when they are the most impressionable, is key to beating rivals who still have the decency to disallow kids on their platforms.