Concerns about major change at WhatsApp, as experts accuse the app of 'negligence'
WHATSAPP has lowered the minimum age of its users for dozens of countries, including the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Previously 16 years old in some countries, the age limit has been dramatically lowered in a move described by experts as 'negligent'.
Previously, the minimum age at which you can use WhatsApp was not universal around the world.
For example, in the US the minimum age was 13 years.
While in Great Britain and European Union countries it was 16 years old.
But as of today (February 16), Meta-owned WhatsApp has dropped the age limit to 13 for all countries.
In a statement today, WhatsApp said: “We are updating our Terms of Service and making relevant changes to our Privacy Policy to reflect that the minimum age to use WhatsApp in the UK will be changed from 16 to 13.
“This update ensures a consistent minimum age requirement on WhatsApp worldwide.”
WhatsApp added: “There will be no change to the services you receive.
“As always, your personal messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted.
“No one else, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them.”
Until 2018, the age limit in Britain and the EU was 13 years, when it was raised to 16 years in response to data protection legislation.
Before today, the age at which you could access WhatsApp in most countries in the world was 13.
It is also the existing minimum age for many internet services around the world, including other messaging services such as Signal and Viber.
Opening WhatsApp to even more young children before safety measures are in place is negligent and concerning.
Rani Govender, senior online child safety policy officer at the NSPCC
Meta's fellow social media apps Facebook and Instagram also follow the same age limit.
However, Rani Govender, Senior Child Safety Online Policy Officer at the NSPCC, said adult offenders are “hiding under the veil of end-to-end encryption” in WhatsApp, which could put children at risk.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) has called the move to lower the user age “negligent and concerning”.
WhatsApp prides itself on its end-to-end encryption: a security feature that scrambles messages to ensure no one can see the content.
Although it is a feature that the UK government has focused on with its Online Safety Bill.
Govender added: “Opening WhatsApp to even more young children before safety measures are in place is negligent and concerning.”
In an effort to limit risks, WhatsApp does not allow users to search for other users they do not know. You need someone's phone number to get in touch with them.
After WhatsApp receives a message from someone outside the user's contacts, it will ask whether to block or report the unknown user.
The idea behind these features is that users have full control over who can add them to groups and how their profile is visible.
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