New Delhi, September 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
WhatsApp has introduced a new set of optional parental controls for teenagers, allowing parents to have greater oversight of privacy settings, group activity, Channels and the Meta AI experience while keeping personal communications protected.
The company said the controls are intended to help parents and teenagers jointly decide how the platform should be used, while preserving the privacy of personal conversations.
Under the new features, parents can select privacy settings for their teens, including who can view their profile photo and who can add them to groups. If a teenager wants to make these settings less restrictive, parental approval through a PIN set by the parent will be required.
Parents will also be notified when their teen joins or leaves a group, or when a group grows significantly. Additional controls will allow parents to manage aspects of their teen’s use of Channels, including which Status updates they can view and who can see their own Status updates.
WhatsApp has also added controls for the Meta AI experience available to teenagers. Parents can choose the default 13+ setting or opt for a stricter “Limited Content” setting based on the level of restrictions they want to apply.
The company said the controls are being rolled out gradually and will be further developed based on feedback from families. It said the objective is to encourage conversations between parents and teenagers about responsible use of WhatsApp without compromising the privacy of personal communications.
The controls are entirely optional, and parents can adjust or disable them at any time. WhatsApp said that even when parental controls are enabled, teens’ personal messages and calls remain protected by end-to-end encryption.
The company added that no one outside a chat, including WhatsApp, can access or listen to users’ personal messages and calls.
The move builds on WhatsApp’s earlier efforts to provide parents and guardians with greater controls for younger users. Earlier this year, the platform announced tools that allow adults to adjust communication settings and restrict certain features for pre-teens, with the aim of enabling them to primarily use WhatsApp for messaging and calls.
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