What Parents Need to Know About TikTok’s Latest Privacy Controls
TikTok announced today that it is adding several new privacy protections for users under the age of 18, including advanced default privacy settings, tighter restrictions on who can comment on videos, and what videos can be uploaded.
According to the popular platform’s website , the changes are “aimed at raising standard user privacy and security standards.” These changes include:
- New default privacy setting for users aged 13-15. On a private account, a user must approve subscribers before those users can view their videos. The “Suggest your account to others” option is also disabled by default for these users.
- Tighter restrictions on who can comment on videos created by users aged 13-15. They can now allow Friends or Anyone to comment; the ability to comment on “All” is removed.
- Limitations for which users have access to Duet (video collaboration feature) and Stitch (video remix tool). The features will now only be available to users aged 16 and over. And for users between the ages of 16 and 17, the default setting for who can use their videos in these tools is now Friends.
- Limiting the number of downloaded videos. Now you can only download videos created by users aged 16 and over. For users between the ages of 16 and 17, the default setting for allowing their videos to download will be disabled unless they allow it.
Most of these changes are just “default”, which means they can still be manually changed to make the user account more public. But parents can use the opportunity to talk to their teens about the importance of mindfulness in protecting their privacy.
In addition, parents can still use the Family Pool tool released last year to link their account with their child’s and monitor their restrictions remotely.