Within a few weeks, all accounts belonging to a user under the age of 18 will automatically be set a daily 60-minute screen time notification.
They will be notified of this in the app and be required to type in their password to make an active choice to continue using TikTok. Users will however be able to disable this limit if they want to, unless Family Pairing settings have been put in place to stop this happening.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps among young people – we’re always hearing about it in the schools we visit.
It is a social media platform where users can create videos, sharing these either publicly or privately. On TikTok you can like, comment, store and share content that appears on your homepage or discover page.
There is an in app chat function and a “Live” feed where you can scroll through and comment on live content.
Head to the UK Safer Internet Centre to find out more information about TikTok and its online safety features.
What is TikTok’s new online safety update for young people?
Last year, TikTok reinforced its digital wellbeing page to include screen time summaries and breaks.
They also started notifying users aged 13-17 when they spent 100 minutes on the app, and invited them to consider switching off once this limit had been reached.
Yesterday, TikTok announced that they would be changing this limit to 60 minutes, so that young people will be notified of their consumption of the app 40% sooner.
The setting is designed to allow young users to have more control of how much time they spend on the app.
It will build awareness around screen time management: TikTok say they will also be prompting young users to set a limit for themselves if they decide to opt out of the 60 minute limit but still spend more than 100 minutes using the app in a day.
In addition, all users under the age of 18 will be sent a message to their inbox weekly, detailing a roundup of their screen time.
“This builds on a prompt we rolled out last year to encourage teens to enable screen time management; our tests found this approach helped increase the use of our screen time tools by 234%.”
TikTok newsroom
Recognising the signs
We know that a common concern of parents and carers is that they wonder whether their child may be spending too much time in front of their screens.
If you are worried about the amount of time your child spends on their devices there’s lots you can do to help.
Have conversations and help your child to recognise how going online makes them feel and the importance of taking a break when they need to.
There are particular signs which can help your child to recognize if they have been spending too much time on their devices.
Some signs you may see include (but are not limited to):
- being distracted and struggling to focus
- feeling tired or sleepy
- feeling unusually emotional or upset
If your child uses TikTok, this new update could be a great starting point in having an open and honest conversation.
Another useful tip is to help remind them of the things they love to do offline; this will encourage a healthy mix of online and offline activities.
For further advice around screen time and healthy balance for your family, you can head to our Help and Advice page.
What is TikTok’s new online safety update for families?
Last year, we wrote about how TikTok’s Family Pairing was launched to help parents and carers support their child in browsing TikTok in a safer way .
Should you enable Family Pairing, your account will be linked to your child’s and will provide more information about their time spent in the app.
TikTok have now updated the Family Pairing so that parents and carers can set a time limit which their child will not be able to override. Parents and carers can also use Family Pairing to disable notifications for their child.
If you are considering making a change to parental controls that will affect their privacy, try to explain your decision making and feelings to your child calmly so that they are more likely to listen and understand.
