{"title": "Meta Launches Supervised Profiles for WhatsApp Users Younger Than 13", "body": ["Meta revealed plans to roll out supervised profiles on WhatsApp, tailored for children below 13 years old to enhance safety during use of the chat service. These profiles incorporate safeguards allowing a parent or guardian to limit incoming messages from specific individuals. Such profiles are restricted to basic texting and voice calls, excluding extras like Channels, location tracking, and integration with Meta's AI tools."], ["Creating one requires bringing the parent's phone close to the child's device for connection. After linking, the supervising adult can select approved contacts and group memberships for the child. Comprehensive guides for enabling these profiles are accessible through WhatsApp's help resources."], ["Incoming messages from unfamiliar users will initially appear as requests, with privacy options adjustable directly on the supervised device. Access to these profiles is secured by a PIN, restricting modifications to privacy configurations solely to the parent or guardian."], ["Consistent with standard WhatsApp exchanges, communications in these supervised profiles remain protected by end-to-end encryption, ensuring privacy from external access. Initially, only contacts already stored in the phone can initiate chats, and the child cannot enter groups or access invitations from outsiders unless the supervising parent explicitly approves them via alerts."], ["While WhatsApp avoids defining a lower age threshold for these supervised setups, the company plans a phased introduction of the capabilities over the next several months."], ["Over recent years, Meta has bolstered family safety tools throughout its ecosystem. Last September, it debuted profiles for adolescents aged 13 to 15 on Facebook and Messenger. The prior year, accounts for users under 16 were mandated on Instagram. Similar to WhatsApp's latest addition, these options let guardians review interaction requests and apply enhanced privacy measures."], ["Early in 2026, Meta halted teen access to its AI conversation bots temporarily, prompted by incidents where certain bots participated in inappropriate discussions, including sexual topics, with young users."]}