WhatsApp has begun rolling out parent-managed accounts for pre-teens, allowing parents and guardians to decide who can contact them and which groups they can join.

These accounts are restricted to messaging and calling and do not include access to Meta AI, Channels, Status, or location sharing. The child's messages remain end-to-end encrypted and cannot be viewed by third parties, including parents, who cannot read their chats or listen in on their calls.

Setting up a parent-managed account requires both the parent's and the child's devices to be present at the same time. The parent must register and verify the child's phone number, confirm the child's age, and scan a QR code on the child's device to link the two accounts.

The parent can also set a 6-digit PIN, ensuring that only they can access and change message requests, privacy settings, and activity alerts from the managed device.

"The new parental controls and settings are gated by a parent PIN on the managed device. Only parents can access and change privacy settings, ensuring they are empowered to tailor their family's experience," the company said.

"All personal conversations remain private and protected with end-to-end encryption, meaning no one—not even WhatsApp—can see or hear them."

By default, managed accounts can exchange messages only with people already saved in the child's contacts, and only parents can add the account to groups.

When an unknown contact attempts to reach the child, a context card will appear showing whether the unknown contact shares any groups with the child and which country they are from.

Parents will also receive activity alerts when their kids receive new chat requests, add a new contact, or when groups they're in add new members.

"Parents will receive notifications about important activity, like when their child receives a message request from an unknown contact. They can customize the notifications they receive about other activities, such as when their child leaves a group," WhatsApp added.

The child can transition their account to a standard WhatsApp profile when they turn 13, after which they will have full access to WhatsApp features without parental controls.

Meta also introduced dedicated accounts for teens under 16 on Facebook and Messenger in September 2025, one year after rolling out the same feature for Instagram users.

Today, Meta also introduced new WhatsApp anti-scam protections that warn users when behavioral signals suggest a device-linking request may be fraudulent.