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To link a teen’s WhatsApp account to a parent or guardian, start on the teen’s phone: open Settings > Parental controls > Continue. Confirm the teen’s birthday, scan the QR code with the adult’s phone, then verify the adult and create a six-digit parent PIN. Both people must agree to link their accounts, and the feature is still rolling out gradually, so it may not appear for every family.
Before you start
- The teen must be 13–17, and the parent or guardian must be at least 18, according to WhatsApp’s teen parental-controls guidance.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version on both iPhone or Android phones.
- Have both phones available. The teen and adult must agree to link the accounts.
- Availability is gradual; meeting the age and app requirements does not guarantee that the option is available in your region yet.
Link the teen’s account to the parent’s phone
- On the teen’s phone: Open WhatsApp and tap Settings > Parental controls > Continue.
- Enter the teen’s birthday and confirm the age when prompted. Continue to begin linking to a parent’s account.
- On the parent’s phone: Scan the QR code displayed on the teen’s phone, then tap the WhatsApp link that appears.
- Continue through the adult verification, create a six-digit parent PIN, and confirm it. Keep the PIN private: WhatsApp uses it to access and change the teen’s privacy settings.
- Back on the teen’s phone: Enter the parent PIN, review or change the available settings, and confirm. The teen is also prompted to read about the linked-controls experience and confirm it.
If Parental controls is missing from the teen’s Settings, check that WhatsApp is up to date and that the teen’s age is within the stated range. If the option still does not appear, the feature may not yet have reached your family.
What parents can manage
The linked controls add parent-managed options and activity alerts to the teen’s account; they do not make the parent a reader of the teen’s chats. The exact options and defaults may change, so use the labels currently shown in the app.
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Parents can choose privacy settings that affect who can see the teen’s information and contact them. Both the parent and teen can view those settings on the teen’s phone: the parent uses the PIN through Settings > Parental controls, while the teen can open Settings > Privacy. WhatsApp says settings are safe by default; making some settings less restrictive requires parent approval.
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- Status: Parents can manage the audience for the teen’s Status updates. WhatsApp describes the default audience as the teen’s contacts.
- Channels: Parents can choose whether the teen may view all channels, only parent-approved channels, or none, and whether the teen may create channels. WhatsApp describes its defaults as allowing all channels and channel creation. Changing these settings does not change channels the teen already follows or has created.
- Meta AI: Parents can select Standard or Limited. Limited further restricts topics; Meta AI features that use Private Processing are unavailable with this setting.
These options are described in WhatsApp’s parental-controls guidance; check the teen’s current in-app screen for the available choices.
Activity and notifications
Parents can view selected activity and choose which kinds of notifications to receive. WhatsApp gives examples such as the teen adding contacts, creating or joining groups, and making account changes such as changing a name or profile picture. These are activity-level signals, not access to the content of conversations.
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What parental controls do not reveal
They do not let a parent read the teen’s personal WhatsApp messages or listen to calls. WhatsApp says end-to-end encryption keeps personal messages and calls between the people communicating, and that no one outside the chat—including a parent or WhatsApp—can read, listen to, or share them. The linked feature manages selected settings and alerts; it is not message monitoring.
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Change settings or unlink the accounts
To change an available setting, the parent opens the teen’s phone and taps Settings > Parental controls, then uses the six-digit PIN. The teen can view privacy settings at Settings > Privacy.
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Either person can start unlinking, but the teen’s unlink request requires the parent PIN for approval:
- Parent: On the parent’s WhatsApp, open Settings > Parental controls, select the teen’s account, and choose Unlink account.
- Teen: On the teen’s phone, open Settings > Account > Unlink account. The parent PIN is required to approve the action.
Talk through the settings together
WhatsApp encourages parents and guardians to have open, ongoing conversations with teens about safe behavior. Discuss why you chose particular settings, what activity alerts mean, and what the controls can and cannot show. Linking accounts is a way to manage selected settings—not a replacement for that conversation.
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