TikTok has become one of the most popular apps now, particularly for Generation Z and the younger millennials. But it has also come under scrutiny and criticism lately as it has become a hunting ground for pedophiles and it is also affecting children’s digital habits as they spend a lot of time on the app. There are also some accusations that the Chinese-owned app is being used to spy on American citizens. Well, they can’t do anything about the latter but they are taking steps to address the former by bringing a Family Safety Mode and Screen Time Management in the main feed.
If you’re a parent that has teens or pre-teens using TikTok, the Family Safe Mode is a tool that you can use to monitor their account and enable Digital Wellbeing features. You will be able to control how much time they can spend on the app every day and also restrict some kind of content from appearing on their feed. To help prevent nefarious users from preying on your kid, you can limit who can send messages to them or turn off direct messaging completely.
While of course, TikTok would probably want you to spend all your time on the app, they know that digital wellbeing is a buzzword and so they are bringing Screen Time Management to the main feed. It has been around since April 2019, letting users set time limits for themselves. They are now making it more prominent for users by partnering with some of their most popular creators in bringing reminders to be aware of how much time they spend on the app.
This is actually the latest addition to their You’re In Control safety video series which shares their safety features and best practices in a language that most TikTokers understand. They have a Safety Center, blog posts, and even a safety video channel @TikTokTips. Hopefully, this will catch the attention of its mostly young demographic so they know how to protect themselves while having fun.
Now as to fears that China is using the app to spy on Americans, there hasn’t been any solid proof about it so we’ll mark it as a conspiracy theory for now. Hopefully, these new features will help keep out the bad players from harming users of the app.
