WhatsApp introduces optional parental controls for teenagers
The social messaging app will let parents decide on privacy settings for their child's account.
WhatsApp is rolling out optional parental controls for teenagers as tech firms face growing pressure to offer more age-appropriate experiences for children.
The social messaging app’s new features will give parents several choices, including alerts when their child joins or leaves a group. They will also be able to set privacy options for the account.
In a blog post, WhatsApp clarified that parents will not be able to read the messages their teen sends or receives, and that those messages, along with calls, will remain private and protected by end-to-end encryption.
The company said the controls are optional, something social media analyst Matt Navarra described as an “obvious weakness”.
He said the move was “fairly convenient” for Meta, which owns WhatsApp, because it lessened the company’s dependence on age verification by shifting some responsibility to parents and teenagers.
“Meta is trying to show regulators we have a child safety system, we have parental controls and we’re rolling it out across our platforms,” he said.
“I think the big unanswered question is whether enough families will actually use it.”
The minimum age to use WhatsApp is 13 in the UK, though it is higher in some countries.
According to the company, parents will be able to change or turn off the controls at any time.
The settings will be “straightforward to set up” with a Pin chosen by a parent, which teens will need if they want to disable the controls.
Among the new privacy tools are options to decide who can see a child’s profile photo and who can add them to groups.
Parents can also decide how their teenager uses Channels, which lets organisations and public figures share content.
They will also be able to choose between the default 13+ setting for Meta AI, the app’s optional built-in AI assistant, or a stricter “Limited Content” option.
“All of these controls are being designed to support open conversations about how to use WhatsApp between parents and teens, while keeping everyone’s personal messages private,” the company said.
The changes come as governments and regulators increase pressure on tech companies to alter how they operate in order to better protect children on their platforms.
In June, the government announced plans to ban under-16s from social media platforms, with the restrictions expected to take effect in March 2027.
It said “highly effective age assurance” measures would be used to verify the age of social media users.
WhatsApp is currently exempt from the ban because the government classifies it as a messaging service.