Instagram for Kids: What's the latest?

Facebook, which owns the photo-sharing app Instagram, is pressing pause on a version of the platform made exclusively for 10 to 12-year-olds.

According to Instagram's rules you have to be at least 13 to sign up to the app, but plans had been announced for a version of the platform for younger children.

Now the social media company has said it is halting that development in order to address concerns flagged by groups, including parents and regulators.

The news comes after Facebook was criticised by the American media outlet The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for hiding the results of their research into how young people felt about using the app.

Some of the results from the research found that teens blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety and depression, as well as worsening issues around body image.

A presentation from researchers at Instagram, which was never shared publicly, revealed 32% of teenage girls felt Instagram made them feel worse about their bodies.

In response to the report, Instagram said the research shows their "commitment to understanding complex and difficult issues young people may struggle with".

It also criticised the WSJ for referring to Instagram as '"toxic for teen girls".

"It is simply not accurate that this research demonstrates Instagram is "toxic" for teen girls," said Facebook's head of research Pratiti Raychoudhury in a recent online post.

"The research actually demonstrated that many teens we heard from feel that using Instagram helps them when they are struggling with the kinds of hard moments and issues teenagers have always faced".

Instagram has paused work on its app for kids

Although Instagram is now taking a step back from work on the kids version of the popular app, it has still backed the need for a platform like it.

"We firmly believe that it's better for parents to have the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram that is designed for them — where parents can supervise and control their experience — than relying on an app's ability to verify the age of kids who are too young to have an ID," said Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a new blogpost.

"While we stand by the need to develop this experience, we've decided to pause this project. This will give us time to work with parents, experts, policymakers and regulators, to listen to their concerns, and to demonstrate the value and importance of this project for younger teens online today."

What is Instagram for Kids?

The adult version of Instagram is for users aged 13 and over

News of an Instagram app just for kids was first announced earlier this year. The current app is only available to users aged 13 and over which has raised concerns about children lying about their age to get on it.

"We started this project to address an important problem seen across our industry: kids are getting phones younger and younger, misrepresenting their age, and downloading apps that are meant for those 13 or older," said Mr Mosseri in his post.

Facebook has said the kids app will include a number of important safety features in order to keep young users safe. Children will need permission from their parents to join, the app won't have any adverts and parents will be able to see how long their kids spend on the app, who can message them and who they follow and are followed by.

"These new features, which parents and teens can opt into, will give parents the tools to meaningfully shape their teen's experience," said Mr Mosseri.

What's been said about the app?

Some have criticisms of the impact of apps like Instagram on children and young people's mental health

Since the launch of a version of Instagram exclusively for kids was first announced, there's been a lot of criticism.

Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood, which was a non-profit group based in the US now known as Fairplay, wrote an open letter to Facebook calling for Facebook to scrap its plans for an Instagram app for kids.

The letter, which was signed by 99 groups and individuals working within child development, expressed that launching a version of Instagram for children "would put young users at great risk".

"Instagram's focus on photo sharing and appearance makes the platform particularly unsuitable for children who are in the midst of crucial stages of developing their sense of self. The platform encourages users to upload videos and photos to receive likes and comments from other users; this can lead young people to obsessively check Instagram for reactions to their posts," the letter said.

The organisation is now asking Facebook to publicly share the research it's done on the harmful effects of Instagram on teenagers. It also wants the social media company to engage with child development experts outside of the organisation who can provide more information on how an Instagram for kids could affect children's wellbeing.

"We won't stop pressuring Facebook until they permanently pull the plug on IG Youth and take real steps to make their platform safer for teens," Fairplay said in a recent statement.

What's next?

Work on an Instagram for kids looks set to continue in the future

Instagram hasn't announced when work on Instagram Kids will start up again, but it has said it'll be sharing more on safety features for the new app in the coming months. It's also said it'll continue focusing on keeping teens using the existing app safe.

Commentators have challenged Facebook to make the research it carried out on the effects of Instagram public and on Monday, a Facebook representative told BBC News it planned to release some of the research material to Congress in the US.

"Our plan is to release the two most noteworthy source decks to Congress and we're looking at a potential public release," they said.

"Our intention is that they will become public."

What do you think about Instagram Kids? Do you think it's a good idea and do you have any concerns? Let us know in the comments.