During the coming weeks, WhatsApp will ask users to accept new terms of service and European users will have to confirm that they're at least 16 years of age. Those not living in Europe will still be held to the current standard, which requires users to be no younger than 13 years old. WhatsApp hasn't said how it will be verifying users are reporting their real age.

Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, has been announcing GDPR-related changes across its platforms including Instagram, Oculus and Facebook itself. In a blog post, WhatsApp also said that users around the world will soon be able to download all of the data the messaging service collects.