Instagram is developing a kids app for kids under 13, according to a news report. Currently, the main Instagram platform requires the user to be over 13 years old to create an account – this is related to US law on online content, to protect children under the age of 13, called the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act ( COPPA). Leaked internal links from Instagram suggest that the company wants to create an ‘Instagram version that allows people under 13 to use Instagram for the first time.’ Details on how Instagram plans to do this have not been announced.
An internal post written by Vishal Shah, vice president of product on Instagram, was accessed by BuzzFeed News. These posts have been posted on the staff message board and the construction of this forum for children has become part of their most important list. “I am happy to announce that going forward; we have identified youth work as a priority on Instagram and added it to our important H1 list.
We will build a new youth pillar within the Community Product Group focusing on two things:
(a) accelerating our integrity and privacy work to ensure the safest youth experience and
(b) creating an Instagram version that allows people under the age of 13 to use Instagram for the first time .
The first task of making Instagram a safe place for children has begun. In its latest blog entitled “Continuing to Make Instagram Safer for the Smallest Members in Our Community”, the company has details on new tools such as Parent Guide that have more information about settings within Instagram to manage privacy and content. The company is also making progress in its work of understanding the true age of people. For teens, features such as instructing them to be more aware of DM interactions, limiting DMs between teens and non-compliant adults, encouraging teens to keep their accounts private and many more are ongoing work.
In any case, it is reported that a completely new version of Instagram for kids is also being developed, and this should be similar to services like YouTube Kids, which offer more content for kids. The leaked post also reportedly suggests that work on Instagram for Kids will be monitored by Instagram Head Adam Mosseri and Facebook VP Pavni Diwanji, who previously worked with Google on YouTube Kids.
