WhatsApp Adds Parental Controls for Teen Accounts

WhatsApp is rolling out new parental controls for teen accounts, giving guardians more oversight of how teens use the messaging app. The controls cover channels, Status, group additions, profile pictures, and Meta AI content settings.

Parents can limit how teens use channels, choose whose Status they can see, and decide who can view their Status updates. Guardians can also control who can add teens to groups and who can see their profile picture. In addition, parents can receive notifications when a teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group reaches 30, 100, or 250 members.

The settings are protected by a parent-set PIN, and teens need parental approval to change them. Guardians can turn the controls off completely if they choose.

For Meta AI, parents can select between the default 13+ option and a stricter "Limited Content" option. The stricter setting disables private processing-based features such as incognito chat and message summaries.

WhatsApp said messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted. The company has been expanding teen safety tools across its apps. In August, Meta agreed to pay an $18 billion fine to settle a lawsuit brought by 29 states in the U.S. This year, Meta rolled out movie rating-inspired content controls, launched parental controls for interactions with Meta AI, added pre-teen accounts on WhatsApp, and started alerting parents if their children search for self-harm content on Instagram.