WhatsApp launched parent-supervised accounts for users under the age of 13 on Wednesday, offering messaging and calling only with no ads.
The move introduces a controlled environment for pre-teens on a platform used by more than 3 billion people worldwide, providing parents with oversight capabilities as several countries consider banning social media access for younger users.
Parents must use both their device and the pre-teen’s device to authenticate the account setup via QR code. They can configure alerts for the managed account’s activities, which by default include notifications when pre-teens add, block, or report a contact. Optional activity alerts cover the pre-teen changing their name or profile picture, getting a new chat request, joining or leaving a group, a group turning on disappearing messages, and deleting a chat or contact. All settings are protected by a six-digit PIN that parents can set and change from their own device.
“We’ve heard from parents, who have bought mobile phones for their pre-teens, that they want to message them on WhatsApp,” the company said. It stated that parent-managed accounts are specifically designed to give additional control over settings and communications for this group.
Managed accounts do not have access to Meta AI, Channels, or Status, and cannot enable disappearing messages for 1:1 chats. All chats and calls remain end-to-end encrypted and private. Pre-teens see a context card for messages from unknown contacts, showing common groups and the sender’s country, and can silence calls from unknown numbers.
Images from unknown contacts are blurred by default.
Chat requests from unknown users go to a separate folder locked behind the parent PIN. Group invite links are also locked behind the PIN, and parents can see group information, such as member count and the admin, before accepting. When pre-teens get older, they receive a notification that their account can be converted to a standard account; parents can delay this transition by 12 months.
The rollout starts in select geographies and will gradually expand over the next few months. Meta has previously introduced controls and accounts for teen safety on Instagram and Facebook. The move comes as countries including Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the U.K. are moving to ban social media access for users under a certain age.
