Stories
WhatsApp Rolls Out Parental Controls to Safeguard Teenagers Online
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CNBC TV18•01-10-2026, 13:19
WhatsApp Rolls Out Parental Controls to Safeguard Teenagers Online
- •WhatsApp introduces new parental control features to enhance online safety for adolescent users and provide guardians with management capabilities.
- •Parents can establish privacy settings, monitor social connections, and customize Meta AI usage for their children's accounts.
- •Features include configuring who can view profile pictures, add to groups, and require parental PIN for setting modifications.
- •Parents receive notifications when teenagers join/exit groups or when group membership significantly changes.
- •WhatsApp ensures end-to-end encryption for personal messages and calls, with global rollout of these controls expected soon.
Key Questions Answered
WhatsApp introduced parental controls that allow guardians to set privacy preferences for profile pictures and group additions, monitor social connections, customize Meta AI usage, and receive notifications when teens join or exit groups.
To set up a pre-teen account, the parent and child must place their devices side-by-side and link them by scanning a QR code displayed on the child's phone during authentication.
Parent-managed accounts restrict users to basic messaging and calling while excluding advertisements, Meta AI, Channels, Status updates, and disappearing messages in one-to-one chats.
