Instagram is building a new platform aimed at children and under 13's

Instagram are planning on bringing out a new version of the platform - that is built for – and can be used by those under the age of 13. Currently, Instagram’s user policy forbids anyone under the age of thirteen from using the photo-sharing application.

An internal company post, obtained by BuzzFeed News found this statement.

“I’m excited to announce that going forward, we have identified youth work as a priority for Instagram and have added it to our H1 priority list,” Vishal Shah, Instagram’s vice president of product, wrote on an employee message board on Thursday.

“We will be building a new youth pillar within the Community Product Group to focus on two things: (a) accelerating our integrity and privacy work to ensure the safest possible experience for teens and (b) building a version of Instagram that allows people under the age of 13 to safely use Instagram for the first time.”

This announcement comes 4 days after Instagram publically stated that it needs to do more to protect its youngest users. Younger Instagram users already face bullying and harassment. A 2017 survey found that 42% of people between 12 and 20 had experienced bullying on the platform. For context, that was the highest percentage found of all social media platforms measured in the study.

The development of an Instagram product for kids follows the 2017 launch of Messenger Kids, a Facebook product aimed at children between the ages of 6 and 12.

We have no official launch date at the time of publication.