- Official min age
- 13+
- Users
- 3.1 billion monthly active users
- Content types
- Posts Photos Videos Live streaming Groups Events Marketplace
What is Facebook?
Facebook is the world's largest social network, founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and now owned by Meta. Users share text posts, photos, and videos, join interest-based groups, create and attend events, and communicate via Messenger. Facebook was the dominant social platform for over a decade and remains central to how billions of people communicate, particularly across older age groups.
While usage among teenagers in Western countries has declined significantly as younger audiences have migrated to TikTok and Instagram, Facebook remains widely used globally and is the primary platform in many countries.
What parents should know
Facebook is less popular with teenagers in the UK and US than it was a decade ago, but it remains a concern because of the scale of its user base and the variety of content and strangers a child could encounter. Groups, in particular, can contain adult or extremist content.
The minimum age is 13, with standard age verification based on self-declaration. Facebook Messenger Kids is a separate, parent-controlled messaging app for children under 13. Privacy settings on the main platform can be configured to limit who can see posts, send friend requests, or message a child.
Key risks for young users include contact from unknown adults, exposure to misinformation and extremist content in groups, cyberbullying, and the addictive design of the News Feed. Marketplace has also been misused to target young people.
Current trends on Facebook
No trends found