WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Facebook, on April 24 published an update to the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduced by the European Union and in force since next May 25th. Within the changes communicated by WhatsApp regarding the sharing of user data and respect for privacy, there is one concerning the minimum age to use the app, which will now be 16 years.
If you live in a country in the European Region you must be at least 16 years old to use our services, or the age of majority required by your country to register or use our services. If you live in a country of any other country, except those of the European Region, you must instead be at least 13 years old or the age of majority required by your country to use our services.
At the moment the minimum age to use WhatsApp in the European Union is 13, although most users ignore it. With the increase to 16, anyone wishing to use WhatsApp will have to declare their age at the time of registration by accepting the new Terms of Service. Those under 16 must have the authorization of a parent or guardian, even if it is not clear how Whatsapp can verify the real age of users, since it will not be required to show an identity document.
