Revision History

WhatsApp announced on March 11, 2026, that it will allow children under 13 to use the platform through parent-managed accounts with restricted features, no ads, and end-to-end encryption. The move arrives amid a global wave of child online safety legislation, Australia's first-of-its-kind social media ban for minors, and research showing that Meta's existing teen safety tools on Instagram have been largely ineffective — raising the question of whether parental controls on WhatsApp will deliver where previous efforts have fallen short.