TikTok Adds More Safety Features For Teens

TikTok is adding more features to protect the privacy and security of teens who use the short form video app, as concerns grow about the impact of technology on young people.

As teens spend more time on social media apps, parents, legislators and advocacy groups have urged tech companies to focus more on issues such as cyberbullying, child exploitation and mental health. TIC Tac was also prosecuted in April for allegations that the video app illegally collects and uses data about children, claims the company said “lacking in merit.”

TikTok has stated that 16 or 17 year old users will have their direct messages set to “Nobody” by default when they first join TikTok. Currently, TikTok’s direct messaging settings are set to “Friends” by default, which means that users can receive messages from the subscribers they follow. Teens who have never used direct messaging will also receive a prompt asking them to review their privacy settings. TikTok already turns off messaging for users under the age of 16.

The company is also limiting when teens receive push notifications that might entice them to spend more time on TikTok. Users aged 13-15 will not receive push notifications after 9:00 p.m. Push notifications will be disabled for teens from 4 or 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

TikTok also introduces new pop-ups designed to educate teens about the app’s privacy settings. When teens under the age of 16 are about to post their first video, they’ll also see a pop-up asking them who they want to let watch the video.

Teens aged 16 to 17 will also see a pop-up if they turn on downloading videos. The prompt will tell users that enabling this option means that other people will be able to download their videos and share them on other platforms. Video downloads are disabled for account holders under the age of 16.

The new controls TIC Tac announced after the company in January made accounts for people under 16 private by default.

“Our priority is to ensure that teens on TikTok have a safe and age-appropriate experience when they create and share on our platform,” said Tracy Elizabeth, TikTok’s Global Child Safety Policy Manager.

Other social media companies including Instagram, have also deployed more safety devices to protect adolescents.