WhatsApp has introduced a new set of optional parental controls designed to help parents guide how teenagers use the messaging platform without giving them access to their children’s private messages or calls.
The new controls will allow parents and teenagers to set up a range of privacy and safety features together, giving parents more visibility over some aspects of their teens’ activity while keeping personal conversations protected by end-to-end encryption.
According to WhatsApp, parents will be able to determine settings such as who can see their teenager’s profile photo and who can add them to groups.
If a teenager wants to loosen certain privacy settings, the change will require approval through a parent-set PIN.
The controls will also notify parents when their teenager joins or leaves a group, as well as when a group the teenager belongs to grows substantially in size.
WhatsApp said parents will have additional controls over the platform’s Channels feature, including deciding how their teenagers use Channels, whose Status updates they can view and who can view their own Status updates.
Parents will also be able to choose the type of Meta AI experience available to their teenager. The options include the default 13+ setting and a stricter “Limited Content” option.
The company said the controls are optional and can be adjusted or turned off depending on the level of support a family wants to provide.
The introduction comes as messaging and social platforms become an increasingly important part of how teenagers communicate, while parents face the challenge of providing oversight without intruding into their children’s private conversations.
WhatsApp said the new features are intended to support conversations between parents and teenagers about responsible use of the platform rather than give parents access to their private communications.
“Parents have told us they want to be there to guide them without reading over their shoulder,” WhatsApp said.
The company added that the controls are being developed gradually based on feedback from families and are designed to give parents more information about certain aspects of their teenagers’ WhatsApp activity.
However, WhatsApp said activating the controls will not give parents access to the content of their teenagers’ personal chats or calls.
“Even with controls turned on, your teen’s personal messages and calls stay private and protected by end-to-end encryption,” the company said, adding that no one outside a chat, including WhatsApp, can see or hear the communications.
The new system will use a single PIN and alerts to make the controls easier for families to manage, while allowing parents to decide how much oversight is appropriate for their teenagers.
WhatsApp said the new controls are only the beginning, with additional features expected to be developed as the company receives feedback from families on the tools they need.
The rollout adds another layer of parental oversight to WhatsApp while maintaining the platform’s end-to-end encryption for private communications.
