TikTok: 3 new safety features coming to social media app that parents need to know about
Parents may soon be able to block accounts from appearing on their child’s feed 📵
- TikTok is introducing new tools to its Family Pairing feature
- One will allow parents to monitor older teens’ online activity after they’ve aged out of some of the teen account protections
- They’ll also be able to block certain accounts from appearing to or interacting with their child altogether
- For those curious, parents will be able to check in on which topics interest their children too
Parents will soon have a little more insight into what their children are doing on TikTok - and more power to curate their experience.
On Wednesday (July 20), the social media giant announced a suite of fresh safety and wellbeing features for teens and families that will soon be introduced to its popular app. It comes just days after dozens of new restrictions meant to protect children online were introduced under the Online Safety Act.
Websites, apps, and platforms that allow adult content now have to carry out ‘highly effective’ age checks on their users, while algorithms must be configured to filter out harmful content from being recommended to children. Tech companies that don’t comply could face fines, or potentially even be made unavailable in the UK altogether.
TikTok’s teen accounts already have more than 50 different features and settings designed just for them. But it says its new updates will give families more tools to have conversations about online experiences, safety, and privacy on an ongoing basis.
Here are a few of the new in-app safety changes on the way that parents will want to know about:
1. Parental visibility tools for older teens
As well as its built-in safeguards for teen accounts, TikTok already offers a feature called ‘Family Pairing’ – which allows parents and guardians to link their account to their child’s one, and manage certain safety and privacy settings.
But TikTok says it will be looking into and adding some new tools to Family Pairing to help protect older teens too. One that the platform is testing will see parents automatically notified when their teen uploads a video, story, or photo that's visible to others on TikTok.
TikTok says other new features will give parents greater insight into the privacy settings their child selects. Parents of teenagers aged 16 to 17 will be able to see if they allow people to download their content, or if others can duet or stitch with what they post. By default, these features are permanently off for teens aged 13 to 15.
On top of that, a feature the social media company previously announced that allows teens to alert a parent if they report a video on TikTok is now available globally. “While parents won't see the specific reported content, it's designed to help make it easier for teens to start conversations about online boundaries and safety with the trusted adults in their lives,” Adam Presser, the company’s trust and safety head added.
2. New ‘block controls’
Earlier this year, TikTok says it added a new tool to Family Pairing that enabled parents to see who their teen had chosen to block. The platform says it is now creating a new tool that builds on this, which will initially be launched in Europe.
The tool, also a part of Family Pairing, will let parents block specific accounts on their child’s account. “We heard from parents that they know best what content is suitable for their teen, and this gives them another way to customise their teen's TikTok experience,” Mr Presser said.
Once an account is blocked, it can no longer directly interact with the teen. Its content will no longer appear in their feed, and the teen can't view the account's profile. If things change, teens can send their parents a request to unblock the account, the company said, “but parents make the final decision”.
3. A way to see the topics that matter to your children
TikTok has recently introduced a ‘manage topics’ feature, which allows people to customise how often content related to a range of popular topics was recommended in their feed – like creative arts, travel, nature, or sports. Through Family Pairing, the app will now enable parents to see what topics their teen has chosen to shape their feed.
“We've heard from teens that they want their caregivers to be interested in their digital life and to recognise how important it is to them,” Mr Presser continued. “With increased visibility into content preferences, families can connect on the topics they're interested in on TikTok, and the content and creators that excite and inspire them.”
If you’re interested in finding out more about what actions the Government is taking and considering to keep young people safe online and curb excess screen time - including a potential daily social media limit - check out our coverage of what officials have said online here.