WhatsApp introduces new parental controls for teen accounts. (Img: X)
New Delhi: WhatsApp has introduced a new set of optional parental controls for teenagers, giving parents greater oversight of selected aspects of their children’s activity on the messaging platform without granting them access to private chats or calls.
The new controls, announced by WhatsApp on September 30, are designed for parents and teenagers to configure together. The features are being rolled out gradually and may not yet be available to every user or in every region.
Under the new system, parents can determine certain privacy settings on a teenager’s account, including who can view the teen’s profile photograph and who can add them to WhatsApp groups. If a teenager attempts to loosen certain restrictions, parental approval through a PIN set by the parent will be required.
The platform will also provide parents with notifications concerning selected account activity. These include alerts when their teenager joins or leaves a group, creates or joins a group, or when the membership of a group in which the teenager participates increases substantially.
Parents will additionally be able to regulate aspects of their teenager’s use of WhatsApp Channels and Status. They can decide which Status updates the teenager can view and who can view the teenager’s own Status updates.
The controls also extend to Meta AI. Parents can choose between the default 13+ experience and a more restrictive “Limited Content” setting for their teenager’s interactions with the AI feature.
WhatsApp has stressed that the new controls do not allow parents to read their children’s private conversations. Personal messages and calls continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning that neither parents nor WhatsApp can access the contents of those communications.
The parental-control framework is optional. WhatsApp says families can modify the controls or turn them off depending on their requirements. The company has described the initiative as part of an effort to help parents guide teenagers’ digital interactions while preserving the privacy of their personal communications.
For teenagers between 13 and 17, setting up the controls requires the accounts of the parent or guardian and the teenager to be linked. WhatsApp’s current setup instructions require the parent or guardian to be at least 18 years old, with both parties agreeing to establish the connection. A six-digit parental PIN is then created to protect access to the relevant controls.
The rollout comes amid increasing attention worldwide to online safety and the manner in which younger users interact with digital platforms. WhatsApp’s latest measures seek to introduce parental oversight over specific features while retaining the platform’s existing encryption protections for private communications.
