Instagram has announced it is pausing the development of ‘Instagram Kids’.
In a blog post published overnight, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri revealed the social media app would instead be focusing on working with parents and policymakers to demonstrate the value of Instagram Kids.
Earlier this year, it was revealed Facebook (which owns Instagram) was working on a new product targeted at children under the age of 13.
However, the idea of ‘Instagram Kids’ quickly drew some controversy, with critics suggesting such an app could be detrimental to the development of children.
Mosseri explained today’s decision is not a result of the criticism the project has received.
“Critics of “Instagram Kids” will see this as an acknowledgment that the project is a bad idea. That’s not the case,” he said.
“The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today.”
Mosseri also pointed to YouTube and TikTok’s respective apps for users aged under 13.
“Our intention is not for this version to be the same as Instagram today. It was never meant for younger kids, but for tweens (aged 10-12). It will require parental permission to join, it won’t have ads, and it will have age-appropriate content and features,” he continued.
“Parents can supervise the time their children spend on the app and oversee who can message them, who can follow them and who they can follow. The list goes on.”
To ensure children are safe online, Instagram Kids will come with a range of tools for parents to control their children’s experience online.
Instagram hits back at WSJ report
Mosseri also responded to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, which suggested Instagram had a harmful effect on teenagers, particularly teen girls, and that the social media app had made little effort to address this.
“To be clear, I don’t agree with how the Journal has reported on our research,” he said.
“We do research like this so we can make Instagram better. That means our insights often shed light on problems, but they inspire new ideas and changes to Instagram.”
