How to Track Your Child’s WhatsApp
Children spend a lot of time on messengers and social media—it is a fact. According to Statista, the average time a child spends on social networks and messengers per day is over 3 hours, with Snapchat on top of the leaderboard—almost 90 minutes daily.
WhatsApp, with its humble 19 minutes, occupies only the 4th place, but it does not mean it is less important than Snapchat or Discord (top 2 apps); these services serve different purposes. The first 2 serve entertainment purposes, while WhatsApp is a messenger for planning and discussing what people are going to do.
That is why a WhatsApp tracker is almost a must for every parent who wants to be informed about their children’s plans and ensure their safety. Of course, there is no need to track every single conversation; it would have been unethical, but discussions on where to go and what to do are definitely worth parental attention.
What Is WhatsApp?
Although this question might seem obvious, digging a bit deeper into the matter can make things more clear. WhatsApp is one of the most popular messengers worldwide, with a user base of more than 2 billion people.
It has gained extreme popularity with the development of mobile Internet when a 3G connection became almost a default on every device.
The messenger started as an alternative to SMS service. People used to have packages that included a certain amount of short messages per month or unlimited offers with special conditions. The main problem was that each SMS had a symbol limitation, which made it extremely challenging to fit all the needed information into one message.
When mobile Internet became available to the majority of people, it was a breath of fresh air, as there were no limitations on symbols or words.
Even today, WhatsApp is focused on sending text messages, unlike Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook, for which messaging is more of a side feature. That is why the app is still used to communicate with friends and relatives about plans, discuss where to go, what to do, etc.
Who Uses WhatsApp?
As of today, the age limit for registering with WhatsApp is 13 years old, and it should be done only with parental consent. Because WhatsApp is not such a public app as Instagram or Twitter, it is considered safer for children because of several reasons:
- children can text only people who are saved in contacts on their devices;
- it is impossible to randomly scroll through all the WhatsApp users and text a complete stranger, so chances are low that an online predator or pervert randomly finds an underaged user and texts them;
- there is no content feed, so it is highly unlikely a child will come across some restricted content (unless someone sends it directly to them).
It is hard to find exact statistics about how many children under 18 use the messenger, but considering that users aged 18-34 is the most numerous group (31% of all WhatsApp users), it would be logical to suggest that the number is high too.
They just cannot be statistically considered without parental consent. As can be seen from the research, the popularity of WhatsApp decreases with the increase of user age.
Main WhatsApp Features
There are several WhatsApp features that make the app very convenient for fast exchange with informative messages.
- Group Chats. Up to 512 people can join the same WhatsApp chat organized by the group administrator. This administrator can add new members and promote other users to administrators if they need assistance. Due to its text-message-preferred nature, WhatsApp group chats are often used by students to talk about the study process or friends to share their plans and get in touch with each other.
- View Once. People can send videos and photos via WhatsApp using the View Once setting. It means that once a user opens and views the media, it cannot be done again. Such files are also not saved on the device.
- Editing. Users are allowed to edit messages they send via WhatsApp within the first 15 minutes after sending them. This allows people to correct mistakes, add, and remove information in case they have changed their mind.
- End-to-End Encryption. Messages sent and received via WhatsApp are only available for people who have access to source and target devices.
This last feature makes WhatsApp trackers like uMobix extremely useful for parents, but we will discuss it in detail later.
Reasons to Track a Child’s WhatsApp
The main reason to track WhatsApp is the way it is used: planning and discussing plans. Parents can see new pictures of their kid on Instagram, check their circle of friends on Facebook, and find out what they are going to do on Friday evening and if they are going to class on WhatsApp.
Another useful point is that people often create study chats on WhatsApp. This means that parents can regularly check such chats on their child’s WhatsApp and find out all the details about their studies, scores, and problems, if they have any. It is also useful because parents can offer their assistance if they see their kid has problems at school.
Finally, all the media sent via WhatsApp is also available for viewing (if it is not set to View Only mode). Of course, usually, there are some ordinary pictures and videos that are not worth parental attention, but if some dangerous or disgusting content comes through – parents will be informed about it and can block the sender.
It works with school bullies as well. Their numbers are very likely to be added to the contacts, so they can cyberbully other children, but if parents track WhatsApp chats, they can quickly put a stop to this.
Ways to Track WhatsApp
Of course, the best and the most ethical way is to explain everything to the child directly and ask for their password. However, parents must have a really great relationship with their offspring to do so, and this is often not the case. That is why there are some other methods.
Use a Tracking App
uMobix is the most reliable method to track a child’s WhatsApp anonymously and secretly. It is installed on the target device remotely if it is an iPhone or manually if it is an Android, but there is nothing to worry about as users are carefully guided through the whole process.
After uMobix is installed, parents can monitor everything their children do on WhatsApp:
- view what people type in group chats the child is in;
- view all the media the child exchanges with other people;
- check the contact list;
- of course, read all the messages, including deleted ones.
It works in the background mode and consumes as little of the device’s resources as possible, so children should not notice anything.
uMobix also has a lot of other useful features for parents: GPS tracking, browsing monitoring, application scanners, Facebook and Instagram trackers, etc. Parents will know everything they need with such a tracker and will be able to help their children whenever they really need it.
Link Another Device
This method works if parents are able to get their child’s phone for a couple of minutes and unlock it. In this case, WhatsApp can be linked with another device, or, in other words, two phones will be logged into one WhatsApp account simultaneously. To do so, there are 4 simple steps parents should follow.
- Open WhatsApp on the child’s device and tap the “Settings” button.
- Tap on “Link a Device” and wait until the QR code appears on the screen.
- Open WhatsApp on the parental phone, proceed to “Settings”, tap “Linked Devices”, and then click the corresponding button at the bottom of the screen.
- Scan the QR code on the child’s phone with the parental phone.
Voila, the account is accessed from two devices, and parents can see all the same chats and even reply in them from their child’s name (not recommended to do so).
Use Web Interface
Many people, including children, often access WhatsApp using a web interface when they work on their PCs. Parents can check the desktop when their kids are away. Maybe they haven’t logged out from their WhatsApp account in the browser. If they did, checking the password manager in the browser is always a good idea. The password can be saved there, and in this case, accessing the messenger account is a matter of minutes.
Conclusion
There is nothing bad about tracking a child’s WhatsApp activity if it is for safety, not for the sake of spying itself. uMobix is a reliable and effective anonymous tracker that can provide full access to all WhatsApp information needed for parents to ensure this very safety.
Linking a device or checking the WhatsApp web interface are also effective options, but not always viable. Thus, it might be worth trying uMobix, especially considering it offers a free trial!
