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WhatsApp New Feature: WhatsApp is now going to launch a new tool to protect children from any kind of online danger. This tool will help parents to keep an eye on the WhatsApp activities of their children. If the child joins a new group or leaves a group, parents will immediately get information about it.
Parents will not be able to read children’s personal messages nor listen to their calls. (Photo: Canva)
New Delhi. Messaging app WhatsApp is going to provide parents with a ‘super control’ tool through which they will be able to keep a close eye on all the activities of their teenage children. Often children knowingly or unknowingly become part of such groups which are not safe for them. Now, through the new parental control features of WhatsApp, parents will get instant notification on their phones as soon as the child joins any group. Not only this, if the child is already present in a group in which the number of new members suddenly increases very rapidly, then the system will also send an alert to the parents about this. This will make it easier to keep children away from suspicious networks.
Not only this, children will not be able to relax the privacy settings on WhatsApp as per their wish. Parents and children will decide together who can see the profile photo, who can see the status and who can add them to the group. If the child wants to remove these settings, he or she will need the PIN set by the parent. That means, one will not be added to any group without the consent of the parents.
Strict vigil on channels, status and Meta AI
This control is not limited to just simple chat. WhatsApp Channels and Meta AI will also come under its purview. Parents will be able to decide which channels their child can follow and whose people’s status they can see. Apart from this, the option of ‘Limited Content’ can also be selected on the use of Meta AI for children aged 13 years and above. With this, children will be able to access only safe and appropriate information.
no compromise on privacy
Despite these strict monitoring tools, WhatsApp has taken full care of the privacy of children. The platform has made it clear that parents will not be able to read personal messages of children nor listen to their calls. All chats will remain end-to-end encrypted as before. Its purpose is not to spy on children, but to provide them a safe digital environment. Parents can update or turn off these settings anytime according to their needs.
About the Author
Ruli Bishnoi is a senior journalist with more than 20 years of experience in the media industry. He is currently associated with News18 Hindi (hindi.news18.com) and works in the business vertical. Here he discusses the difficult facts of the business world…
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