My 10 year old just got her first phone and I’m torn between letting her use whatsapp or sticking with plain sms. I’ve heard mixed things about strangers and group chats, so is it actually a safer option for kids?
WhatsApp isn’t magically safer than SMS—both come down to who has her number, and WhatsApp just adds group-chat and scam risks if the privacy settings aren’t locked down tight. In real life, I’d set “Who can add me to groups” to My Contacts, hide her profile photo/last seen, and block unknown senders—then pair it with Family Link or screen time limits. For a 10-year-old, plain SMS with Google’s spam filter is often the simpler start; WhatsApp can wait a year or two.