WhatsApp is preparing to change a historical rule of the platform. Meta’s messaging app has announced the introduction of accounts dedicated to children and pre-adolescents under 13a system designed to allow young people to communicate with friends and family but under adult supervision.
Until now, the minimum age to use WhatsApp was 13. With this new method, however, minors will be able to access the platform through simplified and parent-controlled profilesdesigned to provide a safer and more limited experience. The company’s stated goal is to offer families a more secure communication environmentespecially in a period in which many countries are discussing restrictions or bans on the use of social media by minors.
Limited functions: messages and calls only
Accounts for under 13s will not have all the features available in the standard version of the app. Young users will be able to use only messages and callswhile some features will remain excluded. Among the unavailable functions are Meta AI, channels and statusas well as some advanced platform options.
In this way the experience remains focused on basic communication, avoiding more complex or potentially problematic tools. The conversations will still happen protected by end-to-end encryptionthe system that guarantees that the content of messages cannot be read by third parties, not even from the platform itself.
Full control for parents and guardians
The heart of the new function is the system parental controls. To activate an account dedicated to minors, the parent must connect your child’s phone to your device during initial setup. Once the procedure is completed, the adult effectively becomes account administrator and can establish various safety rules.
Among these is the possibility to decide who can contact the child, which groups they can join and how to handle message requests from unknown contacts. When a message arrives from a person not present in the address book, the request is filtered and can only be controlled by the parent via a Security PINnecessary to access the settings.
A system designed for safety and gradualness
Meta explained that the launch of the feature will be gradualprecisely to collect feedback from users and improve the system before a wider diffusion. The introduction of these profiles represents an attempt to find a balance between access to technology and protection of minors. Parents can supervise the activity without directly reading the conversations, which remain private. In this way, WhatsApp also tries to transform itself into a family communication space, where younger people can start using digital messaging with some rules and with the active presence of adults.
