New Delhi: WhatsApp has recently announced its latest parent-managed accounts that will enable parents and guardians to set up WhatsApp for children under 13, with the strict privacy controls managed only on the primary device.
The parents will need the phone they have bought for their family member and their own device, side by side, to link their accounts. Once the setup is complete, these accounts are controlled by the parent or guardian, who will be able to decide who can contact the account and which groups they can join.
The parents can also review the message requests from unknown contacts and manage the accounts’ privacy settings. The parental controls and other settings for children’s WhatsApp accounts will be gated by a personal identification number on the managed device.
Only parents can access and change privacy settings by ensuring they are empowered to tailor their family experience, and adding that parents will have complete control over who can contact the children, the groups they can join, and the strangers who can message or call them.
This latest feature has been built in response to feedback from parents and guardians who have requested a WhatsApp account for their pre-teens.
The parent-controlled WhatsApp account option for pre-teen children comes at a time when governments around the world are considering banning the use of social media for children under 16.
