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 parental controls for teenagers to address concerns regarding age-appropriate experiences on the platform. The new features allow parents to receive notifications when their child joins or leaves a group and to manage privacy settings for their account. However, parents will not have access to the messages being exchanged, which remain private due to end-to-end encryption.
These controls are optional, which social media analyst Matt Navarra described as "an obvious weakness," as it reduces Meta's reliance on age verification by placing some responsibility on parents and teens. Meta aims to demonstrate a child safety system and parental controls across its platforms, but the effectiveness of these measures remains uncertain.
Parents can easily set up or modify the controls using a PIN, with teens needing the PIN to disable them. Privacy tools include control over profile photos, group invitations, and Meta AI channel settings. These changes come amid increasing pressure from governments and regulators to improve child protection on social media platforms, with the UK government planning to ban under-16s from such services from March 2027.
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