Facebook launches new Scrapbook feature for kids' photos

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Facebook photo albumImage source, Facebook
Image caption,

Dan Barak who designed the Scrapbook and his son Rom

You can't have a Facebook profile if you're under 13, but now parents can officially tag photos of their kids to create a Scrapbook.

The feature is designed to be the "modern day baby book", storing all your children's pictures in one place.

The child may then inherit the album when they're old enough to use the social networking site.

This means the next generation could have an online identity on the site if they join up.

Dan Barak, Facebook product manager who designed the feature, said: "I started seeing friends who were parents adding photos of their kids and tagging their partners... we asked and interviewed a bunch of parents and found 65% of partners who share photos of their kids on Facebook [in the US] do this."

Image source, Facebook

He said he realised that people needed a "better way to organise them" so he set up Scrapbook.

"Photos of my son are the most important pictures my wife and I will ever take. It's important to us that we're in control of these photos," Dan said.

Only parents with access to Scrapbook can tag and add photos.

In response to questions regarding safety concerns, a Facebook representative says that it takes safety seriously.

The usual privacy and security controls will apply and the parent can decide what audience to share the Scrapbook photos with.

The feature is still a pilot. Facebook won't automatically transfer Scrapbook into a 13-year-old's new account and Facebook says it will respond to user feedback.

Scrapbook is only available in the US at the moment, on iOS, Android and desktop.

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