New Delhi — WhatsApp has introduced a new set of optional parental controls for teenagers, allowing parents to manage certain privacy, group, Channels and Meta AI settings while keeping personal messages and calls encrypted.
The company said Wednesday that the new tools are intended to help parents and teens make decisions together about how the messaging platform is used.
Under the controls, parents can manage privacy settings such as who is able to see a teen’s profile photo and who can add the teen to groups. Teens who want to relax those restrictions will need approval through a PIN established by a parent.
Parents can also receive notifications when their teen joins or leaves a group or when a group grows significantly in size.
The new features also give parents more control over Channels and Status. Parents can determine which Status updates their teen is allowed to see and who is permitted to view the teen’s own Status updates.
WhatsApp is also adding parental controls for Meta AI. Parents can keep the platform’s default setting for users ages 13 and older or choose a more restrictive “Limited Content” option.
The company said the controls will be introduced gradually and could be expanded based on feedback from families.
WhatsApp emphasized that the features are optional and that parents can change or disable them at any time depending on the level of oversight they believe their teen needs.
Personal messages and calls will continue to be protected by end-to-end encryption even when parental controls are enabled, according to the company. WhatsApp said neither the company nor anyone outside a conversation can read or listen to private communications.
The latest rollout builds on earlier parental-control tools introduced for younger users, including features that allow parents and guardians to adjust communication settings and limit certain functions for pre-teens. (Source: IANS)
