WhatsApp to ban under 16 years old users from app

In a bid to increase privacy and security, WhatsApp is going to ban users under 16 years of age from using the service. However, this rule is only limited to Europe for now.

Sky News has reported that the social media messaging app WhatsApp has changed its privacy standards in Europe and complying with new regulations, European users would have to be at least 16 years old to use it, raising the previous 13-year-old criteria.

In the upcoming weeks, users will be asked to agree to the new terms of service and will have to confirm their age. The rule, however, does not apply to those not from Europe and they will go forth with the already existing rule that require users to be at least 13 years old.

WhatsApp will soon let users re-download deleted media

Till now, WhatsApp has not commented on how this age verification will be carried out to see if users are reporting their current age, reported Engadget.

WhatsApp has decided to update its terms of service and privacy policy just ahead of the European data privacy rule, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law kicks out next month. Europe’s GDPR will force companies to follow users’ request to delete personal data, requiring more transparency for how people’s data is used online.

Moreover, WhatsApp wrote in its blog post that in few weeks, it will permit users to download a copy detailing the data it holds on them such as contacts, groups, blocked numbers, device model and such. The feature will be available worldwide on the newest version of the app.