WhatsApp Unveils New Parental Controls and Safety Features for UAE Families

As the UAE bans social media for children under 15, WhatsApp has introduced new features that give parents firmer control over their teenagers' online footprints. Parents will not be able to read the messages their teenagers send or receive. The new features are meant to help parents and teenagers build safer online habits together, offering oversight of potential risks without constant monitoring.

WhatsApp says the tools are flexible and can be adjusted or disabled as family needs evolve. Parents can use a six-digit Parent PIN to lock specific privacy settings on a teenager's account. If a teenager tries to change certain restrictions, such as who can view their profile picture, Last Seen status, or add them to groups, they need parental approval.

The controls also provide notifications to keep parents informed of changes in their teenager's online activity. Parents receive alerts when their teenager joins or leaves a group, when a group grows significantly, or when a new contact is added. Parents can set who can view their teenager's status updates, whose status updates the teen can access, and how the teen discovers or follows public WhatsApp channels.

The update also includes artificial intelligence features. Parents can select either the default 13+ Meta AI experience or a stricter Limited Content option that restricts sensitive topics and adds safeguards. The stricter mode disables private or incognito AI interactions. These controls do not grant parents access to personal messages or calls, as end-to-end encryption ensures these remain protected.

Balancing oversight with privacy, these controls prompt important questions about how technology companies can protect young users without limiting their independence. Andreas Hassellof, founder and chief executive of technology company Ombori, believes WhatsApp is moving towards a useful balance between parental visibility and personal privacy. “Good digital safety should create visibility without turning childhood into surveillance,” he said.

Mili Mehta, a Dubai resident and parent of a 15-year-old, welcomed the initiative, noting that it gives parents greater control over privacy settings and offers an added layer of safety. However, she noted that her teenager used WhatsApp less frequently than other platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.

Jenita Clara, a UAE resident and mother of a 13-year-old, also supports the new controls, sharing an experience where her child was added to a group by someone he barely knew, exposing him to inappropriate content. For Ms Clara, parental controls are not about distrust, but an added safeguard.

WhatsApp's controls are optional and disabled by default. Mr Hassellof suggested that platforms should make their strongest age-appropriate protections easy to activate while allowing families flexibility. As artificial intelligence becomes part of everyday digital services, ensuring young people's safety remains a challenge, and age-based filters are only a first step toward more context-aware systems.