WhatsApp adds parental controls for teen accounts
WhatsApp has started rolling out optional parental controls for teen accounts, adding new limits around privacy and group use while leaving messages private.
Parents can choose who sees a teen’s profile photo, who can add the teen to groups, and what happens around Channels and Status. Those settings are protected by a PIN set by the parent, so a teen cannot change them without approval.
The app will also notify parents when a teen joins or leaves a group, and when a group they are in grows in size. WhatsApp has not said what counts as a meaningful increase in a group.
The new controls are part of Meta’s broader push to add teen protections across its apps, including Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. On WhatsApp, the company is keeping the messages end-to-end private while giving adults more oversight around account settings.
Reporting
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