Is Messenger Kids Safe?

The short answer: Of all the chat apps a young child might use, Messenger Kids is one of the few I'm genuinely comfortable with — if you set it up properly. It's built for under-13s, your child can't create it on their own, and with the right setting you approve every contact. As a parent-controlled kids' product it also tends to sit outside the new under-16 social-media laws (like Australia's), so it's a legitimate way for a little one to message grandparents and a few real friends.

What Messenger Kids is

Messenger Kids is a separate, stripped-back messaging app for younger children. There's no public profile, no algorithm, and no opening it up to the world. You — the parent — set it up and run it from a Parent Dashboard inside your own Facebook account. That parent-in-control design is exactly why it's safer than handing a seven-year-old a normal messaging app.

Where you still need to pay attention

"Safer" isn't "set and forget." The one thing to get right is how contacts get added. Messenger Kids offers a looser mode called Supervised Friending, where your child can add contacts themselves and you're notified after the fact. That's fine for an older, trusted child — but for little ones I'd keep it tight. Beyond that, images and videos can be shared inside approved chats, and the usual screen-time creep applies, so it's worth a glance at what's being sent and for how long.

How we'd use it

For a young child, this is the "training wheels" version of messaging: a tiny, hand-picked contact list (family and one or two real friends), contacts locked to parent-only, a quick weekly look at the dashboard, and the device staying in shared spaces. It lets them learn to message kindly and safely before they ever touch the grown-up apps.

The bottom line: Messenger Kids is a yes for under-13s who need to chat — provided you set contacts to "Only I can choose," check the Parent Dashboard now and then, and keep the list small. It's about as safe as kids' messaging gets, because you're the one holding the keys.