WhatsApp launched a new set of parent-supervised accounts for users under the age of 13 on Wednesday. The company said that these accounts will only have access to messaging and calling, and won’t be targeted with any ads. While the company rates its apps 13+ on both the App Store and Play Store, many pre-teens use WhatsApp to communicate with parents, as WhatsApp said it is introducing this feature after feedback from parents.
Meta said that when setting up a pre-teen account, the parent or guardian will need to have both their device and the pre-teen’s device and authenticate the account via QR code. While setting up, parents can configure alerts for the managed account’s activities. By default, parents would receive an alert when pre-teens add, block, or report a contact.
Besides that, they can turn on optional activity alerts. This includes the pre-teen changing their name or profile picture; getting a new chat request; joining, creating, or leaving a group; a group turning on disappearing messages; and deleting a chat or a contact. All these settings are protected by a six-digit PIN that parents can set and change from their own device.
“We’ve heard from parents, who have bought mobile phones for their pre-teens, that they want to message them on WhatsApp. Parent-managed accounts are specifically designed to give additional control over settings and communications for this group,” the company said in a Q&A page.
WhatsApp said that these managed accounts don’t get access to features like Meta AI, Channels, or Status. Plus, they can’t turn on disappearing messages for 1:1 chats. The company noted that all chats and calls are still end-to-end encrypted and private.
Pre-teens will see a context card informing them about messages from people not in their contacts when they receive such requests. These cards display if the unknown contact has any groups with pre-teen users in common and which country they are from. Plus, they can always silence calls from unknown numbers. By default, the chat app also blurs images from unknown contacts.
Users with managed accounts will receive all chat requests in a separate folder, locked behind the parent PIN. Similarly, the group invite links are also locked behind the PIN. The company also provides group information, such as the number of group members and who the admin is, before parents can accept the request.
Meta said that when pre-teens get older, they receive a notification that their account can be converted to a standard account. It noted that the company plans to introduce an option for parents to delay this transition by 12 months.
The company said that it is starting the rollout in select geographies and will gradually expand over the next few months.
For years now, Meta has introduced controls and accounts for teen safety to social networks like Instagram and Facebook. WhatsApp is not a social network, but more than 3 billion people of all ages worldwide rely on the app to communicate, including children. The company’s move also comes as many countries, including Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the U.K., are moving to ban social media access for users under a certain age.
