Is WhatsApp Safe for Kids? A Parent’s Guide

WhatsApp isn’t designed for children under 13, but older kids and teens can use it more safely with privacy settings and parental guidance. While the app offers end-to-end encryption, risks like cyberbullying, strangers, and inappropriate content make supervision and open communication essential for family safety.

We asked three experts to help us give you the best information on WhatsApp, the dangers, and how to protect your child.

Our experts:

• Yaron Litwin, an online safety expert and CMO of the Canopy Parental Control App
• Derek Jackson, COO of Cyber Dive, a tech company dedicated to keeping children safe online and parents in the know
• Amy Mortlock, vice president of marketing at ShadowDragon with over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity

“WhatsApp users, and especially teens, are susceptible to unsolicited group ads, scams, and exposure to explicit content,” says Litwin. 

Just like with any social media app, your kids can be exposed to people (both kids and adults) who are there to steal from them, expose them to things that are sexual in nature, bully them, or to gain personal information about them. “Teens can receive explicit material that automatically saves to their phone as WhatsApp doesn't have content filters or age verification,” says Mortlock.

The fact that WhatsApp has disappearing messages, much like Snapchat, makes it hard for you to keep track of what your kiddo is up to on the app. Their chats could be innocent, or not.

Even if your kid knows not to talk to strangers, there’s still the danger of bullying and inappropriate content from people they know. “Group chats pose particular risks because anyone with your teen's number can add them to groups without permission,” says Mortlock. 

WhatsApp isn’t without its security features. It has a few that can help you keep your kid safe, if you decide they can use the app:

• End-to-end encryption: Messages, calls, photos, and videos are encrypted, meaning only the sender and receiver can read or hear them. This protects privacy, but also means parents can’t monitor content directly.

• Privacy Settings: These control who can see your child’s profile photo, last seen, status, and online activity. Options include Everyone, My Contacts, or Nobody and help limit exposure to strangers.

• Block and report: Kids can block unwanted contacts or report suspicious messages directly in the app. Useful for cyberbullying or stranger danger.

• Two-Step Verification: Adds a PIN code to the account for extra protection if someone tries to log in, which prevents unauthorized access.

• Disappearing messages and view once media: Messages can be set to delete after 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days. Photos and videos can be sent in “view once” mode. While these features add privacy, they also make parental monitoring harder. Messages can also be hidden using the "Secret Codes" feature.
• Group chat controls: Users can adjust who is allowed to add them to group chats. Reduces the risk of being pulled into groups with strangers.

Now that you know about WhatsApp safety settings and what they’re good for, here’s how to set them up on your child’s phone.

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the three dots (top right on Android) or Settings (bottom right on iPhone).
2. Go to Settings > Account > Two-step verification.
3. Set a 6-digit PIN.
4. Add an email address for recovery (optional, but recommended).
5. Tap Next.
6. Confirm the email address and tap Save or Done.
7. Enter the six-digit verification code WhatsApp sent to your email.
8. Tap Verify.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy.

2. Click one of these options:
   • Last Seen & Online 
   • Profile Photo

   • About

   • Status Updates

   • Live Location

3. Click Everyone, My contacts, My contacts except…, or Nobody.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Groups.

2. Select Everyone, My contacts, or My contacts except…
3. Click the checkmark to finish.

1. Go to the settings menu.
2. Tap on Privacy.
3. Scroll down to Chat Lock and tap it.
4. Tap Unlock and Clear All.
5. Tap Unlock and Clear from the pop-up.
6. Tap Ok.

1. Open the chat with the person.
2. Click the menu.
3. Click Block > Block.
4. Check the box next to Report to WhatsApp if you decide to report the sender.

1. Go to a chat → tap the contact’s name.
   
2. Select Disappearing messages → choose 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.
3. When sending photos/videos, tap the “1” icon to enable View Once.

To turn off all disappearing messages:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy > Default message timer.
2. Click Off.
3. Tap the back button.

“When people ask me if WhatsApp is safe for teens, I’m reminded of the first time I got behind the wheel of a car,” says Jackson. “I was fifteen years old, sweating hands on the steering wheel with my dad in the passenger seat, reminding me to check my mirrors.

"Was driving safe? Not really. It was dangerous. One mistake could land me in the ditch or in the hospital. 

“But would banning me from driving have made me safer? Of course not. The only way forward was to learn: slowly, carefully, with someone guiding me. That’s the same answer for WhatsApp, or any app teens want to use. It can be safe, if it comes with training, accountability, and visibility. But simply banning it doesn’t work. It only delays the moment kids will eventually face the risks, and when that time comes, they’ll be unprepared.”

The rules for WhatsApp look a lot like the rules for driving, according to Jackson:

• Learn the signs. Just as drivers study road signs, teens need to learn the red flags — unsolicited links, strangers in groups, or anyone trying to “move the conversation somewhere else.”
• Limit passengers. New drivers shouldn’t stuff their car full of five friends and speed on the freeway. New WhatsApp users shouldn’t start out in massive group threads with easy exposure to anyone and everyone.
• Regular check-ins. Cars need inspections. Phones do too. Parents can scroll chats together, ask questions, and make conversations the norm—not just punishment after a mistake.
• Build trust. The safest teen driver isn’t the one who never messes up—it’s the one who calls home when they do. Same here. Teens need to know they won’t be shamed if something goes wrong.

“The counterintuitive truth is that the biggest risk isn’t kids using WhatsApp — it’s parents not knowing what’s happening on it,” says Jackson. “Fear pushes us toward blunt tools like bans or blind trust. Both fail.”

So is WhatsApp safe for teens? “It can be,” says Jackson. “Just like driving. Dangerous in the dark. Empowering with the right guidance. The question isn’t whether teens will use it — they will. The real question is whether we’ll sit in the passenger seat with them, or let them drive blind.”

So, WhatsApp isn’t inherently dangerous, but it's not designed for children under 13 years old. With a bit of parental guidance and some privacy settings, teens can use it more safely. Younger kids are better off with child-friendly alternatives. 

• Dangerous Apps for Kids: What Parents Need to Know
• The Best Parental Control Apps
• How to Keep Your Teen (or Tween) Safe Online