WhatsApp Parental Control: How to Use Privacy Settings and Apps

WhatsApp privacy settings provide some parental control and allow parents to restrict certain features, such as who can contact their child or add them to a group. Nonetheless, with uncontrolled access for kids and no option for parents to monitor WhatsApp with its features, it’s imperative to find better ways.

We have explored the best parental control apps that can help you monitor WhatsApp on a child’s device.

What Is The Age Limit For WhatsApp?

According to WhatsApp policy, the minimum age for use is 13 years old. However, despite this age restriction, there are many kids who register WhatsApp on their devices since the app does not have a method of verifying a user’s age.

According to Ofcom’s “Children and parents: media use and attitudes report 2023”, 25% of children aged 3-4 used WhatsApp (according to their parents) compared to 54% of 8-11-year-olds and 80% of 12-17-year-olds.

Is WhatsApp Safe For Kids?

WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption, meaning no one else can view the messages within a chat. Hence, anything that’s sent within the chat is difficult to monitor.

To this end, WhatsApp cannot be considered a safe app for kids. This is because your child is likely to encounter strangers in WhatsApp groups. Someone can target a person within a group and make it possible for cyberbullies to harass kids on the app.

What Are the Dangers of Using WhatsApp?

17% of kids use WhatsApp worldwide, according to Pew Research. Unmonitored use is one of the dangers of WhatsApp, since even though a parent is aware that their kid is using it, they are less likely to oversee it.

Moreover, WhatsApp does not have a chat filter. It allows people to post inappropriate content, dirty jokes, and vulgar messages without risking the content being taken down.

According to WebPurify, children have a 12% chance of experiencing cyberbullying on WhatsApp. Moreover, WhatsApp is likely to perpetrate cyberbullying for kids in the 12–13 year age group, according to Bitdefender.

Perhaps the direst statistic is that sexual predators abuse WhatsApp by 37% more than other messaging apps. Features that attract offenders to WhatsApp include end-to-end encryption, self-deleting messages, and deleting messages from both chats.

I worry about the risks of group chats on WhatsApp for my child’s safety. The lack of supervision leaves them vulnerable to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, or interactions with strangers. It’s essential for parents to monitor and guide their children’s online activities closely.

Parental Controls Settings on WhatsApp

You can set up parental controls for various features on WhatsApp.

Block Contacts

You can prevent certain contacts from sending messages to your child’s WhatsApp.

1. Go to your child’s WhatsApp and tap on the three dots on the top right.
2. Click Settings > Privacy > Blocked Contacts.
3. Tap on the + sign with a person icon.
4. Choose the contact you want to block from the contacts list.

To block an unknown or a number that’s not saved:

Open the chat of the unknown number > three dots > More > Block > Block.

Control Who Sees Your Child’s Information

This setting allows you to control who sees your child’s profile photo, last seen, online, about and status to Everyone, My Contacts, and Nobody.

1. Go to WhatsApp and Open Settings.
2. Tap “Privacy” and tap on the desired setting. For your child’s profile photo and status, you can manage which contacts can see their profile photo and status. When you tap “My Contacts Except,” you can choose which person will not see their profile photo or status.

Disable Automatic Photo and Video Downloads

WhatsApp settings are set such that photos and videos from regular and group chats download automatically. You can turn off this feature using these steps.

Go to WhatsApp settings > Chats > Media Visibility and slide the toggle off.

How to Link Devices on WhatsApp

You can link WhatsApp on four devices. This feature allows you to see all chats from the linked device on your device. To do this:

1. Open WhatsApp on your child’s phone.
2. Tap the three dots on the top right.
3. Click Linked Devices > Link Device.
4. Unlock the phone using either your fingerprint or PIN.
5. Scan the QR code on the screen of the parent device.
6. WhatsApp will link the device automatically.

Use WhatsApp Trackers

WhatsApp trackers are usually a part of comprehensive phone trackers installed on the target phone. Parents can set up a stealth mode, so kids won’t be able to disable the tracker.

Some benefits of using a WhatsApp tracker over standard privacy settings include monitoring a child’s WhatsApp messages, seeing shared photos and videos, monitoring social media apps, blocking contacts, and blocking WhatsApp entirely.

Let’s take uMobix as an example. This service provides online monitoring support to help kids navigate the online world safely. You can even monitor iPad activity to see their WhatsApp chats.

uMobix WhatsApp parental control captured screenshots of all messages sent and received. It also read group chats and showed me the contact list accessible through the WhatsApp app.

I could find names and view all photos and videos shared through the app. The best thing is that I could see older messages, such that even though they were deleted from the monitored device, I could see them on the uMobix dashboard.

Using the uMobix app helped me watch for signs of cyberbullying, sexting, vulgar language, and inappropriate content. It was better than relying on WhatsApp privacy settings to track the app.

Try uMobix

Conclusion

WhatsApp privacy settings are useful for basic parental controls, but you need a dedicated WhatsApp tracker to view what your child is sharing and their conversations. Still, HeyLocate recommends educating kids about the wise use of social media and messengers.