WhatsApp is set to launch an update aimed at providing relief for parents concerned about their children’s online safety. The upcoming feature will empower adults to impose specific controls on devices, preventing minors from accessing certain functionalities or participating in group chats without authorization.
Furthermore, parents or guardians will have the ability to manage who can reach the account, ensuring that unknown individuals cannot initiate communication. They can also monitor message requests from unfamiliar contacts and adjust the account’s privacy settings.
According to WhatsApp, the platform is a trusted means of family communication due to its simplicity, privacy, and reliability. The company stated that, with insights from families and experts, they are introducing new parent-managed accounts tailored for pre-teens, offering controls to restrict their WhatsApp usage to messaging and calling only.
To initiate the setup process, parents will need to link their family member’s phone with their own device. Subsequently, the parent or guardian will have full control over these accounts, exclusively managing and modifying privacy settings to customize the family’s interaction on the platform.
All personal conversations are safeguarded by end-to-end encryption, ensuring utmost privacy as even WhatsApp cannot access or intercept the communications. The update will be gradually introduced over the following months, with WhatsApp welcoming feedback to enhance the platform’s safety features for family connectivity.