Meta Launches Parent-Supervised WhatsApp Accounts for Under-13 Users
Social media giant Meta Platforms has introduced a parent-supervised account feature on its messaging platform WhatsApp for users under the age of 13. In an announcement on Wednesday (11 March), the company said these accounts will be limited to messaging and calling only, and no advertisements will be shown on them, according to TechCrunch.
Although WhatsApp carries a 13+ rating on both the App Store and Google Play Store, many pre-teen children use the app to communicate with their parents. The company said the new feature is being introduced in response to requests from parents.
To set up a pre-teen account, both the parent’s device and the child’s device will be required. The account must be verified by scanning a QR code. During the setup process, parents will be able to configure alerts regarding activities on the managed account. By default, parents will receive notifications when a child adds, blocks, or reports a contact.
Parents can also enable additional activity alerts. These include notifications when the child changes their name or profile photo, receives new chat requests, joins, creates, or leaves groups, enables disappearing messages in a group, or deletes a chat or contact. All these settings will be secured with a six-digit PIN, which parents can set and modify from their own device.
These managed accounts will not have access to features such as Meta AI, channels, or status updates. Additionally, users will not be able to enable disappearing messages in one-to-one chats. However, all chats and calls will remain private and protected with end-to-end encryption.
When children receive a message from someone not in their contacts, they will see a context card indicating whether they share any common groups with the unknown contact and which country the sender is from. Children will also be able to silence calls from unknown numbers, and images received from unknown contacts will be blurred by default.
All chat requests on managed accounts will be placed in a separate folder secured by the parent’s PIN. Group invitation links will also remain locked behind the PIN. Parents will be able to review details such as the number of group members and the group administrator before approving the request.
When children reach the designated age, they will receive a notification that their account can be converted into a standard account. Parents may delay this transition by up to 12 months if they choose.
Meta said the rollout will initially begin in selected regions and will gradually expand over the coming months.
DBTech/BMT/OR
