What it is
WhatsApp is a messaging app for texts, photos, voice notes, and calls. Accounts are tied to a phone number, and chats are end-to-end encrypted. That protects the conversation from outsiders. It also means you cannot read the messages from your own phone.
Most families use it to stay in touch. The problems start with group chats your child did not choose, photos that can be viewed only once, and disappearing messages that leave nothing to look back on.
What to look out for
- Being added to group chats by people outside the family.
- View-once photos and disappearing messages.
- A phone number that contacts can see.
- Status posts shared with a wide contact list.
- Pressure to move a conversation here from a game or another app, where you had more chance of noticing.
Ways to stay safe
These steps are for WhatsApp. The house rules still apply on every app.
- Set who can see the profile photo, last seen, and about text to "my contacts" or "nobody".
- Limit who can add them to groups.
- Keep disappearing messages off for family chats.
- Agree that unknown numbers do not get a reply, even when the message sounds friendly.
- For younger children, the app-store password stays with a parent.
In the news
Published reports you can read yourself. A headline is the proof, not a set of instructions, and this page does not repeat graphic detail.
- Criminals are using private messaging to groom children Where police named the app, 40% of cases were Snapchat, 9% were WhatsApp, and 9% were Facebook and Instagram.
- Online grooming crimes against children increase by 89% in six years Where police named the app: Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger, Instagram, and Kik.
A way to start the conversation
Ask which groups they are in and who else is in them. A useful rule is: if someone will not say who they are, they do not need to be in a chat with you.
Video
WhatsApp parent briefing
A short video for this guide can be added by an editor. Until then, the written briefing above is the one to use.