WhatsApp gives parents more control over teen accounts

WhatsApp is giving parents more control over how their teens use the messaging platform, rolling out a new suite of parental controls designed to offer oversight without giving parents access to private conversations.

The optional controls allow parents and teens to tailor privacy settings together, including who can see a teen's profile photo and who can add them to groups. If a teen wants to loosen any of the settings put in place, they will need parental approval through a parent-set PIN.

Parents will also receive notifications when their teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group they are part of grows significantly in size. The controls extend to WhatsApp Channels and Status, allowing parents to determine how their teen can use Channels, whose Status updates they can view and who can see their own.

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Meta AI is also part of the update. Parents can choose between the default experience for users aged 13 and above or a stricter "Limited content" option, giving families greater control over how teens interact with the AI assistant.

Despite the added oversight, WhatsApp said parents will not be able to access their teen's personal messages or calls. Conversations will remain protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning neither parents nor WhatsApp can read or listen to them.

The platform said the controls are intended to give families flexibility over the level of guidance teens receive rather than introduce a single set of restrictions.

Parents can adjust the controls or switch them off at any time, with WhatsApp describing the rollout as the first step in a broader effort to develop tools based on feedback from families.

The parental controls follow other privacy-focused updates from WhatsApp. In June, the messaging platform introduced usernames, allowing users to connect with others without sharing their phone numbers.

Users were able to reserve usernames ahead of the feature's wider rollout later this year. Once enabled, usernames will allow users to start conversations with people or businesses without revealing their phone numbers, while also offering an alternative way to participate in group chats without immediately exposing personal contact details.

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