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🛡️ Parental controls and family safety · 💬 Social apps and messaging

Messenger Kids

By Meta. Visit Messenger Kids

Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.

A video calling and messaging app for children, set up and run from a parent's Facebook account. The child sends messages, photos and videos, makes video calls, and plays with stickers, filters and games. Through the Parent Dashboard a parent approves contacts (or lets the child send and accept friend requests), sees who the child chats with and what they send and receive, sets sleep-mode hours, and can download the child's data. There are no ads or in-app purchases, and no Facebook account is created for the child.

Our take: A reasonable first messenger for under-13s whose family already uses Facebook; skip if you don't want Meta holding your child's messages.

The facts
Ages it suitsunder 13 (App Store rating 4+)
What its terms say about ageThe terms set no minimum age. A Messenger Kids account must be created and managed by a parent or guardian's Facebook account, and that adult accepts the terms for the child. (terms)
PriceFree. Free, with no ads and no in-app purchases (Oct 2026).
Works oniPhone and iPad, Android
AccountA parent's account
AdsNone
In-app purchasesNone
The AI in itNo AI features for kids are described; Meta says it uses automated systems and machine learning to detect problems.

What's good

  • Parent approves every contact by default
  • Parent can see conversations
  • No ads or purchases
  • Sleep-mode schedule

Watch for

  • Parent needs a Facebook account
  • Meta keeps message content
  • Past FTC allegation over group-chat flaw
  • Older kids tend to outgrow it

Data and privacy

Meta collects the child's name, photo, birthday, messages, photos and videos, contacts, usage and device identifiers. It says it does not sell the child's personal information, but it may share data with other Meta companies. Read the privacy policy.

Does it work?

In May 2023 the FTC alleged that from late 2017 to mid-2019 a flaw let some children join group chats and group video calls with contacts their parents had not approved, contrary to Meta's promises; this was an allegation in an order to show cause, not a final finding.

In the Big Index

  • The maker in the who's who: Meta

Alternatives to Messenger Kids

  • Desk researchFreeNo ads

    Apple Messages and FaceTime (Communication Safety)

    Apple · ages any age with a parent-made child account; teens 13-17

    Worth turning on for any child with an iPhone or iPad; pair it with contact limits for younger kids.

  • Desk researchFree

    BeReal

    BeReal SAS · ages 13+

    A lower-pressure social app for teens 13+ with real-life friends; younger kids should wait.

  • Desk researchFree, with paid extras

    Discord (Family Center, teen-by-default)

    Discord Inc. · ages 13+

    Workable for teens 13+ who mainly chat with real-life friends, with Family Center on; too open for younger children.

  • Desk researchFree

    Instagram (Teen Accounts)

    Meta · ages 13+

    For teens 13+ only with supervision set up in Family Center; parents should not rely on Teen Accounts alone.

  • Desk researchFree, with paid extrasNo ads

    Kinzoo Messenger

    Kinzoo · ages young kids to tweens, on a parent-made account

    A good first messenger for under-13s whose friends will also join; check the in-app store settings.

  • Desk researchFree

    Lemon8

    TikTok USDS Joint Venture (US) · ages 13+

    No reason for kids under 13; for teens it carries the same data terms as TikTok without TikTok's parent tools.

Every product in parental controls and family safety →

Where these facts come from

Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.