Tips for Keeping Your Teen Safe on TikTok

TikTok is a popular short-form video platform that offers various editing tools, effects, and sounds to help users create imaginative memes and creative content. As a parent, it's important to ensure that your teen has a safe and enjoyable experience while using the app. TikTok provides a range of tools to help you and your teen stay in control.

Here are some tips to help keep your teen safe on TikTok:

Enable device-level parental controls: TikTok is intended for users aged 13 and above, and it has a 12+ app store rating. You can use device-based parental controls provided by Google and Apple to block the app from your underage child's phone.
Set your teen's account to private: By default, a TikTok account is public, but you can easily enable a private account in the privacy and safety settings. A private account allows you to approve or deny follower requests, ensuring that only approved followers can see your teen's content.
Decide who can follow your teen: Even with a private account, your teen can manage who follows them by removing followers or blocking users. This gives them control over who can interact with their content.
Limit the content your teen sees: If your teen comes across a video that they don't want to see, they can simply long-press on the video and tap 'Not Interested' to see less of that type of content in the future. Enabling Restricted Mode at the account level can also limit the appearance of inappropriate content.
Control the comment section: Your teen can decide whether they want to allow comments on their videos from everyone, followers only, or disable them altogether. They can also enable comment filters and create a custom list of blocked keywords to have more control over the comments on their videos.
Set messaging preferences: Messaging on TikTok is limited to your teen's followers. They can unfollow or block a user to prevent them from sending private messages, or disable messaging entirely from their privacy settings.
Restrict duets: Duets allow users to create videos with another user. Your teen can decide who can make duets with or react to their content. They can set their preference at the account level or for individual videos.
Report violations: If your teen sees any content or profiles that violate TikTok's Community Guidelines, they can report them directly from within the app. Reporting helps maintain a welcoming and positive community.
Limit screen time: TikTok offers Screen Time Management as part of its Digital Wellbeing offerings. This feature allows you to set a time limit for your teen's daily app usage. You can also manage screen time through parental controls on Android and iOS devices.
Make videos together: TikTok is a fun and easy-to-use platform. Join in on trends or create content together with your teen. It's a great way to get involved and learn about their interests.

For more information on adjusting privacy settings and controls, you can refer to TikTok's Parental Guide and explore the resources available in the Parents Portal of the Safety Center, including The Family Online Safety Institute's 7 Steps to Good Digital Parenting guide.