WhatsApp adds new parental controls for teen accounts
WhatsApp is rolling out new parental control features that allow guardians to restrict teen interactions, manage group memberships, and set content filters for Meta AI. These tools are protected by a parental PIN and are part of Meta's broader effort to address safety concerns and regulatory scrutiny regarding children on its platforms.
Why it matters
This move highlights the ongoing pressure on big tech companies to implement safety-by-design features in response to lawsuits and legislative demands regarding child safety.
WhatsApp is introducing new parental controls that could allow guardians to keep a tab on who their teens interact with, and also choose content settings for Meta AI chats.
With the new controls, parents can limit how teens use channels, whose Status they can see, and who can see their Status updates. Guardians can also control who can add teens to groups or who can see their profile picture. Parents can also choose to get a notification when a teen joins a new group, leaves one, or the group size grows to 30, 100, or 250 members.
All of these settings are gated behind a PIN set by parents, so if a teen needs to change anything, they would need their parents’ approval. Guardians can also turn these controls off completely.
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