Facebook's Messenger Kids Wants to Teach Online Safety

Episodic in-app activities cover various social situations

By
Rob Rich
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Rob Rich
News Reporter
  • College for Creative Studies
Rob is a freelance tech reporter with experience writing for a variety of outlets, including IGN, Unwinnable, 148Apps, Gamezebo, Pocket Gamer, Fanbolt, Zam, and more.
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Published on January 20, 2022 10:46AM EST
Fact checked by
Jerri Ledford
Jerri Ledford
Fact checked by Jerri Ledford
  • Western Kentucky University
  • Gulf Coast Community College
Jerri L. Ledford has been writing, editing, and fact-checking tech stories since 1994. Her work has appeared in Computerworld, PC Magazine, Information Today, and many others.
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Today Messenger Kids is getting the first of a planned series of in-app activities designed to teach young users about the importance of staying safe and being respectful online.

Pledge Planets is a new episodic activity series for Messenger Kids, designed with the help of online safety experts and child development specialists. Episodes are intended to teach kids how to handle different social situations, with different mini-games themed around kindness, respectfulness, safety, and having fun.

Young dad using smartphone with daughter

Images By Tang Ming Tung / Getty Images

The first episode, titled "Be Kind," is available today for all countries where Messenger Kids is available. It introduces kids to the owner of a sandwich shop, who they can help out by playing two different mini-games about kindness.

Rough Reviews requires matching the correct online response to customer reviews, emphasizing the difference between kind and unkind behavior while also explaining block and report tools.

Order Up uses emojis to help kids understand how to read and interpret emotions in online interactions.

Information about the other Pledge Planets activities has not been shared yet, but Facebook says they'll all relate to the Messenger Kids Pledge. "Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Safe and Have Fun."

Pledge Planets on Messenger Kids

Facebook

Messenger Kids users (and their parents/guardians) can check out the first Pledge Planets episode today, and will find the new activity series in the Explore tab. Additional episodes aren't available yet, but Facebook says they're "coming soon" and should appear in the Messenger Kids app alongside the first episode.

You can download the Messenger Kids app for free from the iOS App Store, Amazon Appstore, or Google Play.

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