WhatsApp has introduced parent-linked accounts for pre-teens, allowing guardians to supervise younger users’ messaging activity and improve safety on the platform. The company said that these accounts will not be targeted with any ads.
While the company rates its apps 13+ on both the App Store and Play Store, many pre-teens use WhatsApp daily.
WhatsApp launched a new set of parent-supervised accounts for users under 13 on Wednesday (March 11, 2026). The company said these accounts will have access only to messaging and calling. WhatsApp said it is introducing this feature in response to feedback from parents.
WhatsApp said that these managed accounts don’t get access to features like Meta AI, Channels, or Status. The company noted that all chats and calls are still end-to-end encrypted and private.
The company said that it is starting the rollout in select countries and will gradually expand over the next few months.
Meta said that when setting up a pre-teen account, the parent or guardian will need to have both their device and the pre-teen’s device and authenticate the account via QR code. While setting up, parents can configure alerts for the managed account’s activities. By default, parents would receive an alert when pre-teens add, block, or report a contact.
“We’ve heard from parents, who have bought mobile phones for their pre-teens, that they want to message them on WhatsApp. Parent-managed accounts are specifically designed to give additional control over settings and communications for this group,” the company said in a Q&A page.
Pre-teen users can change their name or profile picture, receive a new chat request, join, create, or leave a group, turn on disappearing messages in a group, and delete a chat or a contact. All these settings are protected by a six-digit PIN that parents can set and change from their own device.
Download WhatsApp Messenger from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store on your child’s device.
Choose your language and tap Agree and continue.
Tap More options and select Create a parent-managed account.
Register and verify your child’s phone number.
Enter your child’s birthday and confirm their age.
Tap Continue to link to a parent’s account.
Scan the QR code displayed on your child’s device using your phone's camera, then tap the link.
Tap Agree and continue to verify you are an adult.
Create a 6-digit parent PIN.
Tap Done and finish account setup.
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Many European countries, including Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the UK, are planning to ban social media access for users under a certain age. Meta said that when pre-teens get older, they receive a notification that their account can be converted to a standard account. It noted that the company plans to introduce an option for parents to delay this transition by 12 months.
Pre-teens will see a context card informing them about messages from people not in their contacts when they receive such requests. These cards display if the unknown contact has any groups with pre-teen users in common and which country they are from. Users can always silence calls from unknown numbers. The company also provides group information, including the number of members and admin details, before parents can accept the request.
Parent-linked accounts reflect a broader industry shift toward responsible design, ensuring that younger users can communicate online in a safer, more supervised environment.