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Help your teen stay safe on WhatsApp
We know you, as parents and guardians, want your teen to learn how to navigate the digital space in a healthy and safe way. We share information for parents and guardians on ways to help protect and support teens when they use WhatsApp.
Creating a safe space for teens to communicate is really important for WhatsApp. We support parents and guardians to have open and ongoing conversations with your teen often about ways they can practice safe behaviors while using WhatsApp.
Tips for chatting with your teen about privacy and safety while using WhatsApp
1. Walk through privacy settings together: Teach your teen about privacy settings and work together to help them choose the right privacy controls.
2. Remind them about sharing: Help your teen understand what personal information to keep private and the importance of thinking about what they share with others.
3. Show them how to use safety tools: Teach your teen to look out for common signs in potential scams and how to block and report other users or inappropriate messages.
4. Talk about bullying and harassment: Have a conversation with your teen about how to handle bullying, harassment, and threatening messages.
5. Remind them help is available: Encourage your teen to come to you with any questions or concerns they have while using WhatsApp and walk through other sources of support.
How we prioritize privacy
WhatsApp has built-in layers of security to give you peace of mind.
- Default privacy: No one can search for your phone number or read your personal messages.
- Automatic spam detection: We catch and remove most spam and scam accounts before they can even contact you in your chats or before anyone reports them to us.
- Proactive security alerts: We prompt you to verify your identity if we detect any suspicious or unauthorized attempts to take over your account.
We also have additional privacy and security features you can find in-app, like silencing calls from unknown numbers and setting up two-step verification.
Explore more helpful security resources:
- If you feel you or anyone else is in immediate danger, wishes to hurt themselves or others and you're concerned for their safety, please contact your local emergency services or a suicide prevention hotline.
- Content about child abuse or exploitation is strictly forbidden on WhatsApp. If you receive or encounter this type of content, please contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) immediately and report the user through the reporting tool.
