Facebook reportedly building an Instagram for kids under 13

Following its latest update banning adults from DM’ing teens under 18, Instagram now is reportedly working on a new version for kids under 13. 

According to an internal company post obtained by BuzzFeed News, Instagram aims to provide the safest experience for teens. 

“I’m excited to announce that going forward, we have identified youth work as a priority for Instagram and have added it to our H1 priority list,” Vishal Shah, Instagram’s vice president of product, wrote in an internal company post on Thursday. 

“We will be building a new youth pillar within the Community Product Group to focus on two things: (a) accelerating our integrity and privacy work to ensure the safest possible experience for teens and (b) building a version of Instagram that allows people under the age of 13 to safely use Instagram for the first time.” 

BuzzFeed News emphasizes that that post makes no mention of Instagram’s intent to build a product for children under the age of 13, but states, “We require everyone to be at least 13 to use Instagram and have asked new users to provide their age when they sign up for an account for some time.”

Right now, children under 13 are totally forbidden to use the app. Facebook also launched Messenger Kids in 2020 to let parents set controls as well as review and manage their kids’ contacts. 

Earlier this week, Instagram has shared new updates to protect the younger community and make the platform safer for them. The company announced that it’ll ban adults from DM’ing teenagers under the age of 18 who don’t follow them. When an adult tries to DM a teenager, they will receive a notification which says ‘’You can’t message this account unless they follow you.’’