WhatsApp Begins Testing Age Verification in India Ahead of DPDP Act Rollout

New Delhi: WhatsApp has begun testing an age verification feature for a limited set of users in India, displaying a prompt asking people to enter their date of birth, as parent company Meta prepares for compliance with the country's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.

A company spokesperson said WhatsApp is testing 'privacy-protective ways for people to confirm their age' to comply with upcoming Indian regulations. The feature remains optional during the testing phase, and users are not required to submit their date of birth to continue using the service.

The DPDP Act, which received presidential assent in 2023, is being implemented in phases, with provisions governing children's personal data set to take effect on May 13, 2027. Under Section 9 of the Act, platforms must obtain verifiable parental consent before processing a child's data, requiring them to first determine whether a user is under 18.

Meta said age information provided through the prompt would remain private and would not be visible to other WhatsApp users. India is WhatsApp's largest market, with more than 600 million users in the country.