Is WhatsApp Safe for Kids?

WhatsApp has over 2 billion users so, at least statistically, there is a pretty high chance your child is one of them. But what do you know about this popular messaging app?

This guide will help you understand the app’s features, benefits, and risks so you can make informed decisions about if and how your kids will use it.

What is WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is a messaging platform that is becoming increasingly popular with kids. It’s very similar to text messaging, but a few differences make it so popular.

Texting vs. WhatsApp

Texting and WhatsApp share many similarities, but they have some differences too. Here’s how they compare in a nutshell:

Wi-Fi Usage

WhatsApp uses Wi-Fi instead of a wireless network service to send and receive messages. This can be useful in places with poor phone service or when communicating across international lines where SMS messages can rack up expensive phone bills.

However, while your content is encrypted, WhatsApp can still track usage and location for data analysis.

Group Chats

WhatsApp is also useful for communication between large groups of people. While most phones limit the number of contacts in a group chat to somewhere between 20-32, WhatsApp allows for groups of 1,024 people.

With the possibility of large group communications, the risk of exposure to online grooming and inappropriate interactions with strangers increases for our kids.

Voice and Video Calls

WhatsApp offers more than just text messaging features. They also offer free voice and video calls. 

End-to-end encryption is built into the app, so messages and calls are secure — no one can read or listen besides people in the conversations. This could also mean that parents may not know what their children are saying or whom they are talking to.

Media Sharing

The messaging service lets users share documents, pictures, and videos up to 2 GB in size.

Third-party App Sharing

WhatsApp recently released an update that allows users to message across third-party apps like Signal and Telegram. 

Third-party Interoperable Messaging Services are an exciting step for WhatsApp in increasing connectivity across devices and platforms, however, concerns over privacy and security linger. Since messages communicated over WhatsApp can now be accessed on third-party apps, private data and messaging information will be shared with those apps. 

Fortunately, users can disable third-party app sharing at any time. 

AI Assistant

WhatsApp has joined the AI chatbot craze and integrated an AI Chatbot of its own. This chatbot is the same as the Meta AI bot used on Instagram and Facebook and can generate text and images from prompts. 

Can You Get WhatsApp on a Gabb Phone?

No, WhatsApp is not available for download on Gabb phones. Because of its privacy concerns, lack of parental controls, and access to open conversations with strangers, WhatsApp is not safe for kids and doesn’t belong on Gabb phones. 

Is WhatsApp Safe for Kids?

WhatsApp is not safe for children. It presents too many opportunities for kids to come across harmful content or to be contacted by online predators. 

WhatsApp has even caught the attention of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE). In their 2022 Dirty Dozen List, an annual list of twelve mainstream entities enabling sexual abuse, the NCOSE labeled WhatsApp as a “primary place for grooming, sextortion, child sexual abuse materials, [and] sex trafficking.”

While it can be a useful tool under certain circumstances, the lack of parental controls and monitoring capabilities makes it impossible for parents to be certain their child only uses the app under those circumstances.

What are the Dangers of WhatsApp for Kids?

Under certain circumstances, WhatsApp can be useful for staying in touch with friends and family. However, WhatsApp is not safe for kids because it doesn’t allow for message monitoring, allows users to send and receive inappropriate, violent, and sexually explicit photos and texts, and requires no age verification for use.

For parents to protect their families and make informed decisions about their digital lives, they need to know about the risks associated with this app.

Unmonitored Use

WhatsApp presents many of the same threats to families as email or non-filtered text messaging. However, while parents often check their children’s texts and emails regularly, WhatsApp is one platform many don’t know about and don’t monitor.

The lack of adult supervision increases the potential dangers of the app by decreasing the likelihood that a parent will find out about problems and intervene. Some kids even use WhatsApp solely for this reason — their parents are less likely to oversee it.

Access to Inappropriate Content

There is no chat filter available on WhatsApp. This means users can send each other whatever they want.

Dirty jokes, violent videos, pornographic images, vulgar messages, links to adult websites — it’s all fair game.

With no chat filter, WhatsApp users can share anything they want — from distasteful jokes to adult websites.

Kids can also search online to find group chats dedicated to sharing adult content. Searching “WhatsApp directories” is one way to do this.

By doing so, kids can find thousands of links to groups about hundreds of topics, many of which exist solely to share pornography. 

There is still hope even if your child has gone down a dark rabbit hole. Learn tips on what to do if your child has been exposed to inappropriate content online.

View Once

WhatsApp recently released an update that allows users to send media via a “View Once” message. As the name implies, these messages can only be viewed once before they’re permanently deleted. 

This feature also comes with the inability to screenshot or screen record a view once message. While that can be helpful in protecting users from explicit content being circulated around as easily, those view once messages can still be recorded by using a separate device to record the initial opening.

Kids may think that they’re invincible with this new tool on their side, but it can also be dangerous when it comes to reporting inappropriate behavior, as there will no longer be evidence to show authorities in the unfortunate case when legal action is required.

Stranger Danger: Are There Predators on WhatsApp?

To send someone a message on WhatsApp, you need to know their phone number and add them to your device’s contact list. Despite this, predators, hackers, and spammers are tricky and find various ways to share messages with kids.  

Group chats, for instance, present an opportunity for predatory contact. Anyone in a group message can view all the other members’ contact information. For example, if your child is in a group chat with a few of their friends and one of them adds his uncle to the chat, the uncle can now privately contact any group member.

The bigger the size of the group chat, the more danger it presents to children.

Understanding the intentions of even one person is a complex task for a child, so the enormous allowance for 1,024 other people on the thread poses a huge risk.

Furthermore, kids who join random public group chats online open themselves up to being contacted by a huge number of strangers who may misrepresent their identity.

Predators typically obscure their true identity and use these opportunities to prey upon children.

Online Grooming

Predators often use WhatsApp to groom their victims. They might meet a child on a computer game, a social media site, or some other location and establish a friendship. The predator will then suggest connecting on WhatsApp.

Since WhatsApp doesn’t offer chat filters or prohibitions against inappropriate content, once the predator has connected there, they can say and share anything they want.

Because WhatsApp uses Wi-Fi instead of phone service, predators can communicate across international lines.

Disappearing Messages

This feature allows messages to be automatically deleted after 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days. 

While a parent can turn this feature off, a child could easily turn it back on when you’re not around.

Disappearing messages are dangerous because they lead children to believe they can send intimate photos, videos, or messages they wouldn’t normally send — thinking the message will soon be deleted from the internet permanently.

What these kids don’t understand is that any message is a screenshot or download away from living online forever.

Their private messages can resurface anytime and be used for sextortion and harassment.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can take many different forms, including name-calling, spreading rumors, sharing nude photos, or encouraging self-harm or suicide. 

Since images, videos, and documents can be shared on WhatsApp, it is the perfect place for bullies to harass their victims.

Another type of cyberbullying that can be particularly dangerous is “doxing.” This is where the bully posts their victim’s personal information online in a way that proves harmful or embarrassing. 

A bully can post someone’s WhatsApp number somewhere online, and the child can receive hundreds of hurtful messages from people they don’t know. 

Learn more about how to deal with a bully.

No Parental Controls

WhatsApp doesn’t offer any parental controls. While users can turn on certain features to protect their privacy, these features cannot be locked with a PIN or password. Because of this, a child could change any setting at any time. 

WhatsApp Privacy Features

• Live location: Determine whether the app can track your location. Each individual chat allows you to choose whether you want others in the chat to see your location.
• About: A place where users can post a brief description of themselves. You can determine who can read your description by choosing from a range of options between “Nobody” and “Everyone”.
• Fingerprint lock: Set up the ability to lock the app with your fingerprint so only you can open it.
• Last seen: WhatsApp lets users see when other users last accessed the app. You can set who can see this status to a range of options between “Nobody” and “Everyone”.
• Profile photo: Limit who can see your profile picture. Settings include a range of options between “Nobody” and “Everyone”.

How Old Do You Have to be for WhatsApp? Age for Whatsapp

The Apple Store rates WhatsApp appropriate for children 4+, and the GooglePlay Store rates it E for everyone. Still, these ratings only consider the content that WhatsApp itself puts on the app. The rating doesn’t consider the material that can be shared between users, which is where the biggest risks come in. 

Since WhatsApp itself doesn’t post any content — it simply provides a messaging service — the app has a low rating despite all of the dangers it presents to kids.

You are Empowered

The more you become familiar with the risks associated with WhatsApp, you will be empowered to have tough conversations with your children.

Setting boundaries is no easy task, especially when your kid’s friends have access to the app. Helping kids understand the benefits and risks of WhatsApp will give them something to think about.

Consider asking your child to create a pros and cons list and then share it with you. This kind of thinking will open a line of communication where children will feel heard and may be able to hear you.

You may also consider talking to the parents of your kid’s friends. Many parents are unaware of the dangers or reluctantly grant their child access to the app because they similarly worry about their child being alienated. Banding together can make tech parenting much easier.

Any effort you make to keep your kids safe and empowered to protect themselves is a step in the right direction.

What do you think? Did we miss anything? What has been your experience with WhatsApp? Let us know in the comments below!