Messenger Kids: what parents should know

• –Official rating above age 7
  App Store: 4+
• ✓Contact with other players or strangers
  Chat with parent-approved contacts
• –Purchases with real money
  No in-app purchases (App Store)
• –Paid random items
  None found
• –Violence or scary content in rating descriptors
  None listed
• ✓Government lawsuits, fines, or safety warnings
  FTC allegations (2023), proposed order pending

Each flag is a yes-or-no fact from the sources on this page. The number is a count of flags, not a safety score. How we count.

Checked October 2026. Ratings and settings change; check the official source before you decide. What do these ratings mean?

Facts for parents, not medical or legal advice. If you're worried about your child, talk to your pediatrician.

What is Messenger Kids?

Short answer: A messaging and video-call app for children, made by Meta, in which parents choose who their child can talk to.

Meta introduced it in 2017 for kids ages 6 to 12; the current App Store listing doesn't state an age range. Kids don't need a phone number, and parents set it up through their own Facebook account. The app was still updated in October 2026.

Is Messenger Kids safe? The facts

Short answer: Apple rates it 4+, and contacts are managed by parents.

• Rating: App Store 4+; the only listed element is messaging and chat.
• Parent Dashboard: parents manage the contact list and can monitor messages, according to the App Store description. Parents are notified when a child blocks a contact.
• Limits: parents can set usage limits for bedtime.
• Purchases and ads: none, per the App Store description.
• The regular Messenger app is rated 13+.

What happened with the group-chat flaw?

Short answer: In July 2019, Meta said a flaw had let children join group chats with people their own parents hadn't approved.

A friend could start a group chat that pulled in contacts approved only by that friend's parent. Meta said it affected "thousands" of children and turned off the affected chats. In May 2023, the FTC alleged that from late 2017 to mid-2019 Meta misrepresented parents' control over contacts, including in group chats and group video calls, and proposed changes to its 2020 order with Meta. Meta is challenging the FTC's authority in court; as far as we found, the matter is still pending as of October 2026.

The habit kids may copy: answering right away

When a message arrives, it feels like it needs an answer now. Kids watch how fast the grown-ups around them reply.

Try tonight: weather before the call

Before your child's next call with a grandparent or friend, let them pick one: sunny, cloudy, or stormy. Ask: "How's your weather inside today?" Then they can start the call by saying it. In our program, this is the lesson "Weather Inside": naming what you feel.

What the research says

A 2022 meta-analysis of 87 studies with about 159,000 children ages 12 and under found that more screen time was linked to slightly more behavior problems; the link was small and doesn't show cause and effect. More in screen time and child development.

What age is Messenger Kids for?

Apple's App Store rates it 4+. Meta introduced it in 2017 for children ages 6 to 12.

Can parents see Messenger Kids messages?

The App Store description says parents can monitor messages and manage the contact list from the Parent Dashboard.

Does Messenger Kids have ads or purchases?

No. The App Store description says there are no ads or in-app purchases.

Did the FTC take action over Messenger Kids?

In 2023, the FTC alleged that from 2017 to 2019 kids could reach contacts their parents hadn't approved and proposed a stricter order; Meta is challenging the FTC's authority in court, and as far as we found, the matter is still pending as of October 2026.

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