WhatsApp Parental Controls: How to Set Them Up (2026)

Step 1: Set up parent-managed or teen controls

1. Under 13: parent-managed account. Link your child's account to yours and set a parent PIN on their device. You control contacts, groups and message requests. These accounts support messaging and calling only — no Meta AI, Channels, Status or ads.
2. 13 and older: teen controls. Optionally link your teen's account to yours and use a PIN to gate setting changes. Loosening a privacy setting requires your approval.

Tip: Device controls — Screen Time on iPhone and Family Link on Android — are still an important extra layer.

Step 2: Lock down profile privacy

1. Last Seen & Online. Go to Settings → Privacy → Last Seen & Online and limit who can see it.
2. Profile details. Under Privacy, limit who can see Profile photo, About and Status.
3. Read receipts and message timer. Review Read receipts and the Default message timer.

Step 3: Control groups and unknown contacts

1. Groups. In Settings → Privacy → Groups, set Who can add me to groups to My Contacts.
2. Block unknown account messages. In Privacy → Advanced, turn on Block unknown account messages. This is an anti-spam setting triggered by high message volume, not a blanket block on everyone outside contacts.
3. Disable link previews. In Privacy → Advanced, turn on Disable link previews.
4. Silence Unknown Callers. In Privacy → Calls, turn on Silence Unknown Callers.
5. Blocked contacts. Review and add to Blocked contacts.

Step 4: Use Advanced Chat Privacy and two-step verification

1. Advanced Chat Privacy. Advanced Chat Privacy is set per chat: tap the contact or group name, then Advanced chat privacy.
2. Two-step verification. In Settings → Account, turn on Two-step verification.