Facebook Messenger Kids rolls out to additional countries

Facebook has announced that it has rolled out its Facebook Messenger Kids messaging service to 70 additional countries. The social network says that with schools closed and people physically distancing from each other, parents are turning to technology to help keep kids connected with friends and family. Messenger Kids is a video chat messaging app that helps kids connect with friends and family in a fun and parent-controlled space.

As of today, kids in more than 70 additional countries around the world can use Messenger Kids with more countries coming soon. The full list of supported countries is available here. The Messenger Kids app is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and all Android devices. The app is available to download from the App Store, Amazon Appstore, and Google Play Store.

Facebook says that it has brought in advisors to ensure that Messenger Kids is a service that balances parental control with features that allow kids to learn how to connect with others responsibly online. One complaint Facebook says it's heard from parents and kids that it's hard to find friends and connect with them in the app. To help make finding friends easier, there are new options to help parents connect kids with their friends.

One of the features is Supervised Friending that parents can activate to allow kids to accept, reject, and add or remove contacts while maintaining the ability to override any new contact approvals from the Parent Dashboard. Supervised Friending is rolling out today in the US and is gradually rolling out to the remainder of the world. When a kid makes a friending action, parents are automatically notified through Messenger and can override any new connections. Parents are also able to approve an adult, such as a teacher or coach, to connect with their child and other kids in a group in Messenger Kids. That feature is also available in the US today and will gradually rule out to the rest of the world. In other Facebook news, it recently launched its Facebook Gaming app.