Meta criticised after lowering WhatsApp minimum age from 16 to 13

A spokesperson for the group said: “Reducing their age of use from 16 to 13 sends a message to parents that WhatsApp is safe for children, but the stories we’re hearing from our community of parents paint a very different picture.”

Conservative MP Vicky Ford, a member of the education select committee, said that Meta’s decision to reduce the age recommendation without consulting parents was “highly irresponsible”.

They also raised the spectre of young people having “unrestricted internet access in their pockets” and the wider effects this can have on mental health, social lives, and development.

WhatsApp has a number of security and safety features already, including users only being accessible by people who have your number, as well as control over profile visibility.

This week, Meta also unveiled a range of new safety features intended to protect users, particularly young people, from intimate image abuse and “sextortion”.

A recent poll from charity Parentkind found that more than four in five (83%) of parents said they felt smartphones were “harmful” to children and young people, and 58% of parents believe the government should introduce a ban on smartphones for under-16s.

Daniel Kebede, the head of the National Education Union, the largest education union in the UK, called on the government to hold an inquiry into “dangerous” online content young people could access on their smartphones.