A safety how-to guide for parents and carers
With over 2.7 billion monthly users, WhatsApp is one of the most used messaging apps.
Find out what features you can use to help keep your child’s personal information private.
Receive personalised resources and advice to support your family.
GET YOUR DIGITAL TOOLKITWhatsApp is a social messaging app from Meta that is used by over 2.7 billion people every month. It lets users message others via their mobile network, Wifi network or, via WhatsApp Web, their broadband network.
Users can send text, voice and video messages, make voice and video calls and share information and documents.
WhatsApp Web lets users connect their mobile to a web browser. If your child is not allowed to use their mobile, they might instead connect to the web app to continue messaging friends. However, they will need their smartphone to connect.
WhatsApp let userssend messages and content to contacts added to their account. To use the service in the UK, users must be 16-years-old or older (or 13+ if signing up from 16 February 2024).
Only people who have a WhatsApp account can send and receive messages through the app or WhatsApp Web. However, depending on your child’s privacy settings, anyone can contact them or add them to group chats.
By default, the app shows whether a message was delivered, read, seen or played. These are called Read Receipts. However, users can disable Read Receipts in the app’s settings.
Remember: By default, WhatsApp automatically sets privacy settings to public. If you don’t share your last seen information, you won’t be able to see other people’s last seen information. This applies to Read Receipts and other features as well.
There are four settings to manage what information is shared:
See our WhatsApp step-by-step guide to set privacy safety settings on the social messaging app. These help keep children safe online while they chat with their friends.
Other customisable features include:
To make sure your child only receives messages from people they trust they can block, delete or report users.
End-to-end encryption is a form of message security. It means that only the sender and recipient can read what’s sent. So, moderators and third-parties cannot view any of the content.
You can learn more about end-to-end encryption or E2EE here.
WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption in all messages. This means that WhatsApp cannot view the messages sent between users. While this offers more security for those over 18, this could lead to online safety risks for children and teens.
However, you can help their messages stay safe by securing their account using our step-by-step guide and by having regular conversations about their time online.
Location tracking (Live Location) is automatically turned off on WhatsApp. When turned on, users can see your live location. Users can control how long they share their location for.
When reviewing your child’s WhatsApp settings, ensure this remains turned off.
WhatsApp groups are normal chats that include multiple users. Anyone can add your child to a group unless you change their group privacy settings within the app. Just like one-to-one chats, users can send text, video, images and more. These chats are end-to-end encrypted as well.
WhatsApp Communities works similar to online forums. A community might contain multiple groups that people can join and chat to others in. Again, these messages are encrypted.
Community admins can share announcements and updates while members can create smaller groups.
Children joining WhatsApp Communities advertised online face risks of inappropriate content, grooming and more. Encourage your child to gain your permission before joining any community or group so that you can check if it’s safe.
For additional security, users can set up a Screen or Fingerprint lock. These features are different for Android and Apple. See how to enable this on Android here.
Meta requires users in the UK to be 16 or older to use the app. However, WhatsApp is lowering its minimum age requirement.
From April 2024, users will only need to be 13 or older to use WhatsApp. This only applies to existing users. For new users, these terms will affect them immediately. So, if your child starts using WhatsApp from 16 February 2024, these new terms will already apply to them.
This reduced age requirement allows more young people to use the platform. Additionally, children under this age still use WhatsApp to connect and communicate with friends, family and communities. While this can benefit children’s wellbeing, parents must take actions to make sure their accounts are safe at any age. Risks include inappropriate content or contact from strangers.
WhatsApp has a range of privacy and security settings to keep users safe. Work with your teen to customise groups, app access, live location and more to help them take ownership. See our step-by-step guide on setting up WhatsApp for safety.
Show your child how to report and block unwanted contacts. Also, talk about reasons they might need to take those actions.
Then, work with them to add their friends and family. Review and talk about their contacts regularly.
Make sure your child understands what personal information is. This could include their full name, where they live, what school they go to and questions about their family members.
Remember that questions like their mother’s maiden name, pet’s name or similar topics might indicate someone is searching for security details.
Talk about the importance of keeping that information private on WhatsApp.
If something goes wrong or they see something worrying on WhatsApp, make sure they know to come to you, and talk about other sources of support.
These sources might include:
Once you’ve done all of the above, check in with them regularly to review settings and how they use WhatsApp.
Remind them that these reviews and chats are about their safety, not about your trust in them. If they wonder why it’s necessary, make sure you give them the time to help them understand.
Work together to decide on boundaries to support them.
See related advice and practical tips to support children online:
