WhatsApp Parental Controls: WhatsApp has introduced new parental control features for teenagers. With their help, parents will be able to manage many settings regarding their children’s WhatsApp use. These include receiving notifications when the child joins or leaves a group and setting the privacy settings of the account.
Privacy of messages and calls will remain intact
WhatsApp has clarified in its blog post that despite these parental controls, parents will not be able to see the messages sent or received by their teenage child. Calls will also remain private. According to WhatsApp, messages and calls will be protected by end-to-end encryption.
According to the company, these parental control features will be optional. Social media analyst Matt Navara has called this one of its weaknesses. He says that this system can reduce the dependence on age verification for Meta by putting some responsibility on parents and children.
Parental controls will be set through PIN
It will be easy to set up the new controls of WhatsApp. Parents will be able to set a PIN, which teens will need to turn off the controls. Parents will be able to change or turn off these settings anytime as per their need. These privacy tools will also have the option to decide who can see the child’s profile photo and who can add him to the group.
Control over Channels and Meta AI also
Parents will also be able to decide how their teen uses WhatsApp Channels. Organizations and public figures deliver content to users through channels. Apart from this, two options will also be available for the use of Meta AI. In this, the default 13+ setting or the more strict Limited Content option can be selected.
WhatsApp said that all these controls have been designed in such a way that parents and teenagers can communicate openly about the use of WhatsApp and at the same time everyone’s private messages remain safe.
Increasing pressure regarding children’s online safety
This change in WhatsApp has come at a time when there is increasing pressure on tech companies from governments and regulators around the world regarding the online safety of children. In June, the UK government announced plans to ban social media platforms for children under 16. These restrictions are expected to come into effect from March 2027. The government had said that effective Age Assurance technology would be used to check the age of users.
However, WhatsApp is not currently within the scope of this proposed ban, as the UK government considers it a messaging service rather than a social media platform.