WhatsApp Unveils Strict Parental Controls to Head Off Looming Age Laws
WhatsApp has introduced new parental control features, including content restrictions and group activity notifications, to address concerns regarding teen safety. These tools are designed to satisfy regulatory pressures for child protection while avoiding invasive, platform-wide age verification methods.
Why it matters
Tech companies are increasingly balancing user privacy with the growing global demand for stricter child safety regulations on social platforms.
The new tools allow parents to customize rules about what their children see on the platform.
Senior Editor / Home Security and Smart Home
Read full bio September 30, 2026, 9:10 pm ET
WhatsApp is adding more parental-control options. WhatsApp announced in a blog post on Wednesday that it’s rolling out a new suite of parental controls to prevent teens from seeing content their parents may not want them to access.
The tools let parents choose who can see an underage user’s profile photo or invite those users to new groups. Parents can choose to receive notifications about significant group activity or changes. A similar set of controls lets parents limit how teens can use WhatsApp channels, what status updates they can see and who can see their status updates.
Also covering this story
4 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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