WhatsApp parental control: Can parents read their teen's WhatsApp chats? Know here

WhatsApp has announced optional parental controls for teenage users, giving parents a say over privacy settings, group activity and how teens use parts of the app. Messages and calls stay end-to-end encrypted, so parents can't read what their children send or receive.

What parents can control

• Privacy settings: Parents can oversee who sees their teen's profile photo and who can add them to groups. Any attempt to loosen a setting needs approval through a parent-set PIN.
• Channels and Status: Parents can limit how teens use Channels, and restrict whose Status updates they see and who sees theirs.
• Meta AI: Parents can pick the standard 13+ experience or a stricter "Limited Content" mode. The stricter option switches off features such as incognito chat and message summaries.

Also Read: Is Samsung dropping laser autofocus on the Galaxy S27 Ultra?

Alerts for parents

Parents get notifications for some account activity, such as a new contact being added. They are also alerted when the teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group they belong to grows to 30, 100 or 250 members.

Pre-teen accounts

• WhatsApp is also offering parent-managed accounts for children under 13. These come with tighter defaults:
• Only saved contacts can message the child.
• Chat Lock, linked devices, location sharing, view-once media and disappearing messages are unavailable.
• No ads are shown.

How to set it up

• Open WhatsApp on the teen's phone.
• Go to Settings and tap Parental controls.
• Confirm the teen's date of birth.
• Follow the prompts to link the teen's account to the parent's account.

Both phones are needed during setup. For a child under 13, the parent installs WhatsApp on the child's phone and selects "Create a parent-managed account."

Things to keep in mind

• The controls are optional, and teens can use WhatsApp without them.
• Parents can adjust or turn off the settings at any time.
• The rollout is gradual, so the feature may not yet be available in every region, including India.
• Parental controls are no replacement for talking to your child about online safety.

The move follows Meta's earlier teen-safety tools on Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. WhatsApp has said it will add more options based on feedback.