Facebook Messenger Kids now permits sending friend requestsAug 14 (AZINS) For those who did not know, Facebook has a dedicated Messenger Kids app aimed at the young social media enthusiasts. The app has now been updated to allow kids to make friends with their school buddies, albeit with the same level of parental control.

The Messenger Kids app now allows kids to send friend requests, Mashable reported. It is an opt-in feature and when enabled, creates a four-word passphrase which they have to provide to their friend. The requests still require parental permission. However, it is simply a way to ease up the process of sending requests.

The app, which is for kids younger than 13 years of age, further provides more control to the parents who can remove any contact, set a sleep mode to the app, and does not have any ads or in-app purchases as opposed to the regular Messenger app.

Facebook Messenger Kids app is more like a clean version of the regular Messenger with kid-friendly stickers, GIFs, and emoji. There's also an option for the kids to report or block inappropriate content which will be notified to their parent or guardian.

Late last year, Facebook rolled out Messenger Kids, an app that lets the world's biggest social media company expand into a so-far untapped market of kids under 13 while also giving parents complete control over what their children see.

Facebook normally requires users to be at least 13 years old. The new app gives it a chance to win brand loyalty from younger children at a time when it faces competition for teenagers from other social media platforms such as Snapchat.

There already are a handful of other apps that children can use with parental consent, and kids can communicate with each other using texting on cellphones.

Facebook said research showed young children were already using technology on a regular basis - but on apps built for teens and adults, raising concern among parents that their children might be communicating with strangers.The stand-alone app on children's devices can be controlled by a parent's Facebook account that will allow kids to use video chat and send photos, videos or text messages to friends approved by their parents.