Child safety groups urged Facebook to cancel its plans of launching Instagram for kids 

Facebook announced that it is working on a trimmed-down version of Instagram which can be only used by children who are not more than 13.

Facebook announced that it is working on a trimmed-down version of Instagram which can be only used by children who are not more than 13. However, a group of child safety advocates have urged Facebook to cancel its plans of making Instagram for kids under the age of 13 as it could put users at “great risk”. As per Instagram policies, users under the age of 13 cannot create an account for themselves, so Facebook had plans of launching an app exclusively for kids. The Commercial-Free Childhood, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, had coordinated with 35 organizations and 64 individual experts to write to Facebook to abandon its plans of introducing Instagram for kids. The child safety groups had raised concerns about the mental health, privacy and other factors of the kids under the age of 13. "Instagram, in particular, exploits young people's fear of missing out and desire for peer approval to encourage children and teens to constantly check their devices and share photos of their followers. The platform's relentless focus on appearance, self-presentation, and branding presents challenges to adolescents' privacy and wellbeing,” the letter reads.