WhatsApp rolls out parental controls for teens
WhatsApp confirmed that even with the parental controls in place, teens’ chats would stay private and protected by end-to-end encryption
On September 30, 2026, WhatsApp announced the introduction of parental controls for teens on their messaging platform. The new features empower parents to customise their teen's privacy settings, ensuring both parties can agree on the controls before implementation. Parents can determine who sees their teen's profile photos or who they add to groups.
Additionally, parents will receive notifications about their teenagers joining or exiting groups, as well as when group sizes increase. Parents also have the ability to control their teen's usage of Channels, Status updates, and the Meta AI experience. Parents can either opt for a default 13+ setting or a more restrictive 'Limited Content' setting.
These settings are optional, as WhatsApp clarified in their blog post, allowing parents to enable or disable them as desired. Importantly, even with parental controls in place, teens' chats remain secure and private due to end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp emphasized that these controls are an initial step and will be continuously refined based on feedback from families.
The aim is to foster open conversations about WhatsApp usage between parents and teens while maintaining the privacy of personal messages. WhatsApp outlined their commitment to adhering to terms of service, avoiding abusive or personal comments, and fostering constructive community discussions.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu - Sci-Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
