What you need to know
- Facebook Messenger Kids is getting a couple of new features for Christmas.
- There's a new Santa experience where parents can text their kids under the guise of Santa.
- The company is also adding new filters for seasonal holidays including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas.
It's Christmas time, and tech companies are adapting their products in recognition of the holiday season. Google recently rolled out its Santa tracker and changes to Assistant, and Facebook Messenger Kids is getting its own updates to match.
Sure you can track Santa with Google, but with Messenger you can actually text Santa.
The Facebook team explained:
Messenger Kids is opening a direct line to the North Pole by way of you, the parent! Parents can once again opt-in to message their kids as Santa and kids will be able to message back. To kick off the conversation, parents can ask kids "What are you most thankful for this year?" or to share their favorite holiday tradition. To help continue the holiday magic, the Santa chat thread will stay open until January 6 so kids can say "thank you" and share photos of their favorite holiday memories.
The Santa Experience can be enabled from the Messenger Kids' Parent Dashboard in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
Facebook is also adding new AR effects. Kids and parents using the app can now share pics celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas.
Facebook also announced new digital holiday cards. Parents can prepare personalized digital cards to be auto-delivered to their children's inboxes come the morning of the holiday being celebrated. Facebook has options for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Day. Of course, it may be preferable to back this up with a physical card should you be able, but it's better than nothing.
