WhatsApp is introducing new parental controls. Guardians can now monitor who teens interact with and choose content settings for Meta AI chats.
Parents can restrict teen usage of channels. They can also control whose Status teens can view and who can see teen Status updates.
Guardians can manage who adds teens to groups. They can also control who views teen profile pictures.
Parents can choose to receive alerts. Notifications arrive when teens join or leave groups, or when group sizes reach 30, 100, or 250 members.
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All of these settings require a PIN created by parents. Teens need parental approval to alter any of these configurations.
Guardians retain the ability to disable these controls entirely. WhatsApp maintains that messages and calls stay end-to-end encrypted despite these updates.
Parents can manage Meta AI content settings. Options include the default 13+ setting or a stricter Limited Content choice.
The Limited Content setting disables private processing features. This includes incognito chat and message summaries.
Meta faces mounting legal pressure over child safety
Meta has faced multiple lawsuits accusing its social media products of harming children. Lawmakers have pressed Meta regarding delays in launching teen safety features on Instagram.
Meta agreed in August to pay an 18 billion dollar fine to settle a lawsuit from 29 U.S. states. The company has aggressively rolled out child protection features across its apps this year.
Recent additions include movie rating-inspired content controls and parental controls for Meta AI interactions. Meta also added pre-teen accounts on WhatsApp and started alerting parents about self-harm searches on Instagram.
