Facebook Updates Messenger for Kids; Check out what's new

Facebook is modernising the design of its Messenger Kids app to make it easier for them to interact with their friends, navigate the app and personalise their chats. The social media giant is bringing the new look for iPhones in the US and Canada and will roll it out to other counties in a few months.

"We worked closely with kids and parents to understand what they loved about Messenger Kids and what they thought would make it even better – and we're excited to share this new experience with you," reads the post.

There are devoted navigation tabs for "Chat" and "Explore" now at the bottom of the inbox. This will allow children to switch between their conversations and activities within the app easily. The design of the chat tab has also been changed, bringing recently active conversations to the top. Additionally, kids can now view the message and media previews and have the ability to initiate a call with a "swipe" gesture directly from their inbox.

There are also some customisation elements in the latest version of the app. Kids can now choose a custom chat bubble colour to personalise their individual and group conversations.

But everything has not changed. Some features remain the same. This includes parental controls from the dashboard and Messenger Kids Pledge and the "4 Things About Your Info" flow to inform children about how their information is being used and shared.

Facebook Messenger for Kids was launched in 2017 and was intended for children under the age of 13. However, it has seen considerable growth during the year. Earlier this year, the app was launched in more than 70 new countries.