WhatsApp has announced the introduction of new parent-managed accounts for under 13s.
The new system will be rolled out over the coming months and will allow parents or guardians to set up WhatsApp for pre-teens, with controls to limit their use of the service to messaging and calling.
WhatsApp said the accounts will come with strict new default settings and parental controls that will allow parents to manage who can contact their pre-teen, the groups they can join and their privacy settings.
The account must be created and actively managed by parents or guardians and the managed account must remain linked to their own WhatsApp.
The messaging service said the new accounts have been built in response to feedback from parents who said they wanted to be able to introduce their pre-teens to WhatsApp and needed a WhatsApp experience tailored for under 13s.
"To begin, parents will need the phone they have bought for their family member and their own device, side by side to link their accounts," WhatsApp said in a blog post.
"Once set up, 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."
"In addition, parents can review message requests from unknown contacts and manage the account's privacy settings."
"The new parental controls and settings are gated by a parent PIN on the managed device," according to the blog post.
WhatsApp said that all personal conversations will remain private and protected with end-to-end encryption, meaning no one, not even WhatsApp, can see or hear them.
