Majority of parents have concerns about app

A new Facebook messenger app aimed specifically at children has sparked controversy ahead of its UK launch.

Some 90 per cent of parents online have concerns about their children using Facebook’s new Messenger Kids service, with more thanhalfsayingtheywould not currently let their child use it, according to a survey for Barnardo’s.

The app, aimed at children under 13 – when youngsters are officially allowed to have their own proper Facebook account – hasbeenthesubjectofcontroversy in America where it is being trialled.

Barely one in 20 parents said they had no specific concerns about the app, which allows children as young as six to communicate via a tablet or smartphone in groups or on oneto-one video calls, and send messages and pictures.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said: “It is clear that parents have concerns about Facebook Messenger Kids. While the internet provides amazing opportunities, it can also be a place of danger and too many children are groomed and abused online.

“Barnardo’s is not yet convinced by Facebook’s assertion that controls for the messaging app are stringent. We are particularly concerned that actively encouraging young children to form virtual friendships makes them more susceptible to grooming and exploitation.”