WhatsApp Changes Begin in India

Millions of WhatsApp users in India may soon witness a major change, as a new in-app notification is prompting some users to add their date of birth. The message indicates that the request is linked to upcoming government regulations, although neither Meta nor the Government of India has issued any official confirmation so far. Currently, this feature appears to be limited to a small group of users and is not yet widely available.

The reason behind collecting age-related information remains unclear, but it is widely speculated that India may introduce minimum age regulations for social media usage, similar to policies in countries like Australia and the UK. WhatsApp has previously implemented age verification features in parts of the United States to protect minors from inappropriate content. Reports suggest that once users submit their birth date, it may not be editable later. However, there is no official clarity yet on when or if such rules will be enforced nationwide.