Parents' Guide to

Kinzoo Messenger for Families

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Free Social Networking
Kinzoo Messenger for Families Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Christy Matte By Christy Matte , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

Cute communications platform puts safety first.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

  • Kinzoo Messenger for Families App: Screenshot #1
  • Kinzoo Messenger for Families App: Screenshot #2
  • Kinzoo Messenger for Families App: Screenshot #3
  • Kinzoo Messenger for Families App: Screenshot #4
  • Kinzoo Messenger for Families App: Screenshot #5

Parent and Kid Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Serenity L.
Serenity L. Parent of 8-year-old
May 10, 2024
age 8+

faith T.
faith T. Parent of 10-year-old
September 1, 2023
age 10+

i realy want to be able to talk to my besties from home.

See all 5 parent reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

KINZOO MESSENGER FOR FAMILIES is a communication platform that families can use to keep in touch with each other and friends. Adults can create family accounts containing other adults/guardians and kids. These users are automatically connected. Each family member can also connect with people outside the family account (kids can only connect via the "magic codes" provided for each account) for direct messaging or group threads. All of the kid connections must be approved the account owner. From there, users can send text, pictures, emojis, stickers, audio messages, and GIFs to one another. For those who are feeling creative, there's a sticker maker and an emoji maker where you can combine various elements to make your own designs. Much like with other messaging apps, there are free sticker packs and packs available through in-app purchases (kids can see them but can't buy them). There's also a drawing game where one player draws an image and the other player tries to guess what it is. Lastly, users can call each other for video (or voice only) chat. There are normal video calls and "Blip" calls, which are restricted to 8 minutes in case you're short for time. It's easy to swap between users with personal pin numbers so kids don't need a separate device.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (1 ):

This is a winning option for families and kids who want to be able to message each other without fear of outside connections. Kinzoo Messenger for Families ticks a lot of the boxes for safety. Parents approve kid accounts as well as all of their connections. Although they can't see private chats between other users, they can always access kid accounts via pin codes. Even if kids literally post their "magic codes" on a billboard, parents must approve each friend request. There isn't any way to change the magic codes, though, so kids still should learn to share with care.

Including Blips which are intentionally short chats gives kids -- and parents -- an option to keep in touch without an endless chat. It's a great feature that can help set limits. The interface is unusually (and pleasantly) clean for an app geared towards kids, with a minimalist white background that helps make navigation relatively simple. And this carries into other areas as well. Yes, you can send just about any kind of message you'd like, but the games and activities area is sparse right now. This may not matter to you if your goal is just keeping kids in touch with a friend or Grandma, but it's something to know if your family is looking for a lot of extra features. Kinzoo Messenger for Families isn't fancy. It isn't your Swiss Army Knife of apps. But it simply does what it sets out to do and it does it well.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about social media expectations with Kinzoo Messenger for Families. What are your rules around sharing? What are OK things to do/say on social media? What are things that you should avoid doing/saying?

  • How do you like this app in comparison with other apps you could use? As you balance your time on- and off-screen, would this be an app you'd choose to use? Why or why not?

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
  • Subjects: Language & Reading : discussion, reading, Arts : drawing
  • Skills: Creativity : producing new content, Communication : asking questions, conveying messages effectively, multiple forms of expression
  • Pricing structure: Free (optional in-app purchases from $2.79-3.99 for additional content)
  • Release date: January 14, 2021
  • Category: Social Networking
  • Version: 4.0.2
  • Minimum software requirements: iOS 11.4 or later; Android 5.0 and up
  • Last updated: February 1, 2021

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