WhatsApp Introduces New Parent Controls for Teen Accounts

WhatsApp has introduced ‘Parent-Managed Accounts’, a new feature designed to give parents greater control over how their teenagers use the platform. Parents can manage settings such as who can view their child’s profile photo, which groups they can join, who can add them to groups, whose Status updates they can see and who can view their Status. Parents will also be able to set controls on their teen’s use of Meta AI. WhatsApp said these controls are optional.

Parents and teens can create a PIN together to lock these settings and prevent changes without entering the PIN. Parents can also receive notifications when their teen joins or leaves a group, or when the number of members in a group increases significantly. However, parents will not be able to read their teen’s chats or listen to their calls. WhatsApp said end-to-end encryption will continue to protect conversations. The feature is being rolled out gradually across countries, while WhatsApp has not yet announced when it will be available in India.