CALIFORNIA: Parents will now be able to see their children’s chat history on Facebook’s Messenger app after the tech company brought in new parental controls. The changes are aimed at better protecting young people and giving parents peace of mind over who their child may be talking to. The social network has announced several tools for its Messenger Kids platform, which first launched in 2017 as a more child-friendly way to communicate aimed at under-13s, controlled from a parent’s main Facebook account. The enhancements come after concerns were raised about the app last year, when a flaw on Messenger Kids meant children could have come into contact with people not approved by their parents.
Facebook said the Parent Dashboard feature will now allow guardians to see who their child is chatting with, whether they are video chatting or sending messages, as well as how frequently those conversations happened over the past 30 days. Parents will also be able to see photos and videos both sent and received by the minor’s account, with the ability to remove and report them. If the user has blocked or unblocked anyone, parents can access a full list, on top of the notification they already receive whenever a child blocks or reports someone.