In a blog post, WhatsApp said the new features are designed as a set of flexible, optional tools that parents and teenagers can set up together to create an experience suited to their individual needs.

Under the new controls, parents will be able to choose privacy settings for their teenagers, including who can see their profile photo and who can add them to groups. If a teenager wants to relax any of these settings, parental approval through a parent-set PIN will be required.

WhatsApp said parents will also receive notifications when their teenager joins or leaves a group, or when a group the teenager is part of grows significantly in size.

Parents will additionally be able to control how their teenager uses Channels, including which Status updates they can view and who can view their Status updates.

The company said parents can also choose the Meta AI experience available to their teenager. This includes the default 13+ setting and a stricter “Limited Content” option.

WhatsApp said the parental controls are being introduced in phases and will be expanded based on feedback from families.

“These controls are being designed to support open conversations about how to use WhatsApp between parents and teens, while keeping everyone’s personal messages private,” the company said.