WhatsApp tests linked secondary accounts for parents to manage kids’ privacy
WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms (Meta), is developing a feature called “secondary accounts” that links a younger user’s account to a parent’s primary account, allowing parents to supervise privacy settings and some high-level account controls without seeing message or call content.
The feature surfaced in a recent WhatsApp beta build for the Apple iPhone operating system (iOS), version 26.1.10.71. It is still in development and has not been released to all users.
Under the proposed setup, the parent’s account remains the primary account, while the child’s profile is treated as a linked secondary account. The linking process is expected to work through a quick response code (QR code) scan or a secure link sent from the parent’s phone to the child’s device, creating a connection between the two accounts within WhatsApp’s systems.
The feature is designed to apply automatic limits to reduce exposure to unknown contacts. Secondary accounts are expected to block incoming messages and calls from numbers that are not saved in the child’s contacts by default. The setup is intended to lower the risk of unsolicited outreach while keeping core chat functionality available for known contacts.
Parents would also be able to review and adjust selected privacy settings tied to the child’s profile, including controls such as who can see the account photo and status updates, as well as settings related to joining groups. At the same time, WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is expected to remain in place, meaning parents would not be able to read message content or listen to calls through the linking feature.
The update was also described alongside the rollout of usernames, a feature intended to let users choose a handle instead of sharing their phone number in some situations, which can reduce the amount of personal contact information shared during chats.
The feature remains in testing for a subset of beta users, with a wider rollout expected later in 2026 if development and testing continue as planned.
