The minimum age for your child to use WhatsApp is now 16 years old

A few days ago The new General Data Protection Regulation has entered into force I’m sure you heard it out there with the acronyms. RGPD or GDPR. This Regulation replaces the famous and well-known Organic Law on Data Protection which we were more or less used to… with the exception that the new Regulation applies to all States of the European Union. In other words, we are finally going to have the same personal data protection policy as all the States of the European Union. That’s good..

There are more good things, for example. This Regulation is much clearer and more transparent with the data owner (we) so that at all times we know what to do with the data that is given to companies or individuals. For example, from now on when you release on a social network or subscribe to a blog like this, you should be offered all the information about what to do with your personal data (although basically I don’t give in your email addresses to absolutely no one, p

or a lot of money they pay!).

And we still have good things: the services will be put the batteries to validate and verify the age of their users… so if our son has been discharged on some social network without us knowing, it will be the same social network that will be in charge of eliminating his profile. Much easier for us parents (have I ever told you that I am multi-parent?, I have 4 children! We talked about it at the entrance about the minimum age for my son to be released on social media. (and now I’m gonna have to

update)). We’re gonna be able to relax a little bit in this respect.

Not everything is good… or yes.

Indeed, Not everything’s good.. For example, WhatsApp has changed its use policy and now the minimum age for use of the application is 16 years. It has its good part, at 16 years old our children are already a little older than at 13 (it was the minimum age so far) and have more knowledge about social networks and their environment, so it will surely reduce the cases of cyber-harassment and bullyi

But on the other hand, to see who’s the handsome one who gets his son to stay out of WhatsApp until he’s 16, it’s gonna be a tough fight. And I say, if, for example, none of our children (of the normal, of course) would take a car without having the license before 18, why would they want to get into social networks and share their privacy? For sure because of the same prohibition not to be able to do so… and because there will be parents who do not know the existence of the new regulation (or who do not want to have to negotiate this with their children) and allow them to have it installed on the mobile, so social pressure and fear of exclusion will cause other parents to

Let’s go through the ring… we’ll see, in the end we’ll go back to same usual debate: prohibition or education?.

What you haven’t explained WhatsApp for the moment is the method they will use to verify users, which they have done Instagramwhich has started closing accounts of underage users. In case of Instagram is much easier to find out as they can apply algorithms about the photos that upload their users to determine the approximate age of these, so it is much easier… and if on the contrary the account and

s of an older person who simply uploads photos of his children, for in that case it is very simple to check your age. In addition, Instagram It has done it in a pretty elegant way, giving 14 days for the verification of these users, after which your account will be cancelled and all photos deleted: