- WhatsApp introduced optional parental controls for teens to customize their app experience
- Parents can set privacy settings and approve changes via a parent-set PIN on teens' accounts
- Parents receive notifications about teens' group activity and control Channel interactions
Instant messaging platform WhatsApp announced parental control feature for teens on Wednesday, September 30 amid latest safety concerns.
In a blogpost on Wednesday, WhatsApp said, "Today we're introducing parental controls for teens - a set of flexible, optional tools that parents and teens can set up together to help families choose the WhatsApp experience that's right for them."
Parents will be able to choose the right privacy settings for their teen, like who can see their profile photo or add them to groups. If a teen wants to relax any of those settings, they'll need their parent's approval via a parent-set PIN, it added.
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Further, parents will be notified when their teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group grows majorly in size. They will be able to choose how their teen can use Channels, whose Status updates they can see, and who can see theirs. Parents can also now decide on the Meta AI experience that's right for their teen, which includes choosing between the default 13+ setting and a stricter 'Limited Content' option.
"This is just the start. We're building these controls step by step, based on what families tell us they need. 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 messaging app said.
As every family is different, WhatsApp has made parental controls for teens entirely optional. Parents can choose how much support their teen requires, and adjust or turn off the controls at any time. Even with controls turned on, your teen's personal messages and calls stay private and protected by end-to-end encryption. No one outside of the chat, not even WhatsApp, can see or hear them, it added.
Earlier this year, WhatsApp announced parental-control feature to help adults monitor how younger users interact on the platform. The tool allows parents or guardians to adjust communication settings and restrict certain options so that pre-teens primarily use the app for messaging and calls.
The initiative was developed after consultations with families and safety experts, with the goal of providing a more regulated experience for children below the age of 13.
WhatsApp said its newly introduced parent-managed accounts are tailored specifically for children below the age of 13. According to the Meta-owned messaging platform, these accounts are set up and overseen by a parent or guardian and remain connected to the adult's own WhatsApp profile, as outlined in a company blog post.
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