App-ealing way for kids to share pics

LONDON — Mind Candy, the British company behind popular online game Moshi Monsters, has announced a new mobile app called PopJam, which it describes as an “Instagram for kids”.

PopJam allows children to create art, stories, photos, games and contests, and then share them with other kids around the world.

The app is similar to Instagram in that users can follow their friends or other users if they like their creations.

They can also like, comment and draw responses to other creations that pop up in their feed.

As well as user-generated content, there will also be some professional content from the likes of model and actress Natalia Vodianova, who aims to teach children about philanthropy, and Decoded, which aims to inspire children to learn coding.

Mind Candy has also been in talks with Jamie Oliver about how to teach children about food and nutrition.

“One of our key learnings from the six years of building Moshi Monsters has been how much kids love to create, share and show off,” said Mr Michael Smith, chief executive of Mind Candy.

“We love the idea of empowering kids with digital tools and then seeing what they come up with.”

Moshi Monsters, a virtual world and online game aimed at children aged between six and 12, has been likened to a Facebook for children.

Online communities for children are inevitably prime hunting grounds for paedophiles but, as in the case of Moshi Monsters, Mind Candy claims to take child safety very seriously.

PopJam contributions will be monitored and moderated and children are discouraged from sharing selfies unless they are disguised with stickers.

“Creating a product like this is full of complex challenges, but we feel very strongly that without a viable community designed for this younger demographic, kids under 13 will continue using apps designed for those aged over 13 like Instagram, SnapChat and Tumblr,” said Mr Smith.

“PopJam is a walled garden where kids can be kids.” THE daily TELEGRAPH