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WhatsApp has recently made a significant change by lowering the minimum age for European users from sixteen to thirteen years old. This update means that the minimum age requirement for using the chat service is now the same worldwide. Previously, in 2018, the service had raised the minimum age for European users from thirteen to sixteen years.
According to a recent blog post by WhatsApp, this change went into effect on April 11. Additionally, WhatsApp included information regarding the implementation of the European Digital Markets Act and Digital Service Acts in its European terms of use on the same date. A spokesperson for WhatsApp informed CNN that all users, including children, have the ability to control their conversations. They stated that "WhatsApp users can decline participation in group conversations, block numbers, and report accounts."
Despite the reduction in the minimum age requirement, WhatsApp does not verify the ages of users when creating or adding a new account. The chat service emphasizes on a support page that providing false information for a new account is against the platform's rules.
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