In an effort to give more control to parents, Facebook has launched a Sleep Mode in its Messenger Kids that will allow parents to set predetermined “off times” for the app on a child’s device.
When the app is in Sleep Mode, kids cannot send or receive messages or video calls, play with the creative camera or receive notifications.
If they try to open the app, they’ll see a message telling them that it’s in sleep mode and to come back later. “Parents told us they would like controls that make the app inaccessible at a certain time, like during dinner, homework time or bedtime. We took this feedback to heart and built a feature that gives that level of control to parents,” Tarunya Govindarajan, Product Manager at Facebook, said in a blog post late Friday.
With Sleep Mode, parents can set a designated off time and each day at the designated time, the app will “go to sleep” and not be accessible to kids during those hours.