Your child's safety is the most important thing. Currently, the app is available in 75 languages with over 1 billion active users (Jan 2021). To learn more about online safety for your kids, read our definitive guide here. You can also ask about any friends they've met online and what types of videos they share. However, you should still review the settings to ensure theyve been set up correctly. RELATED: Online Gaming Playdates Are a Perfect Window Into How Our Kids Handle Conflict. Toggle mobile navigation and focus the search field, Preparing for Your Visit or Stay at Children's, Your Rights and Protections Against Surprise Medical Bills. After changing to a private account, only users that you approve can follow your account and watch your videos, but existing followers are allowed to continue following you. Children's Health will not sell, share or rent your information to third parties. Trolling is popular on TikTok, tooespecially through the 'Reactions' feature.". Sometimes platforms also test out different types of content with similar themes to see how we interact, so it knows what to show us in the future. Additionally, by using apps, it's important to be aware that you are sharing personal information, and that can come with some risks. But dont worry, you can keep your kids safe on TikTokby understanding the risks and then talking to your teen about your concerns. These things might be harder for them to share with you directly because theyre embarrassed or scared. Look out for things like graphic content and sexually explicit comments. Not to mention, the part of a teens brain that is responsible for rational thinking is not fully developed until their mid-20s. So, what is it exactly that kids and teens love about TikTok? I'd be less worried about the content and more the affect it has on their mental health, take it from 19 year old whos pretty socially active. In general, there are better social media alternatives for 10-year-olds. The app's controls seem to be geared more toward limiting kids' access to virtual gifts that can be bought with real money, instead of giving parents regular monitoring capabilities. To find your comment settings, go toProfile>three-dash menu>Settings and privacy>Privacy > Comments. Please read our privacy policy. "This is the largest civil penalty in a children's privacy case in history," Jordan says. Kids on TikTok often want their videos to be liked, and this makes them vulnerable to safety threats on TikTok, like sexual exploitation. Nelson Aguilar March 2, 2023 5:50 a.m. PT 8 min read. The more likes, followers, or comments a video gets, the more validation your teen feels they are receiving. I'm thrilled you're here and hope you find everything you're looking for! It is not necessary and does not enhance their lives one little bit. "Keep in mind that your child may open the app and change these settings at any time, which is why it's important for you to also view the 'Digital Wellbeing' section of the 'Privacy and settings' screen," Jordan says. Whether you just check in on their account from time to time, pair your profiles for constant supervision, or require them to use the alternate version of the application depends on your concerns and house rules. By default, TikTok collects a lot of data about user activity. However, being active in the digital world means that your child is always accessible to some extent. Use these settings to manage it. For any age child, talk to them about setting their privacy controls as strongly as possible. The user interface is simple and organized, making it easy for kids to find the videos they want to watch. Have an open dialogue about the app and internet safety practices. Cookies / If your account is set to private, no one but you can create a Duet or Stitch with your videos. Secondly, if your teen is older or resistant to sharing an account, youll be able tokeep up with TikTok trends and TikTok challenges on your own account. Privacy / This way, they can have fun creating, socializing, and connecting. Is TikTok safe for 11 year olds? Consider adjusting the following settings: Don't like what's going on in your comment section? In time, your kids will begin exercising initiative and start protecting themselves online on their own. Another feature that you and your child should know is how to report and block harmful content, comments, or users. Using the Friends setting or turning those features off completely limits contact with strangers. As long as someone knows your TikTok username, they can tag you in other videos or mention you in comments. If a video doesn't perform well or generates negative comments, this might lower their self-esteem and/or make them feel lonely. "Some are even publicly encouraged to attempt suicide.". "We also discussed why it's so important to have a private account and only connect with people you truly know in real life," Jordan says. As your child uses the app, you should stay up-to-date on their activity with it by showing a genuine interest in their TikTok videos. If your childs account is public, this opens them up to the eyes and messages of strangers. This allows full access to mature content such as sexually explicit themes, drug-related activities, and violence. For kids age 13 to 15, accounts are private by default. In this section, kids can only see curated, clean videos, and aren't allowed to comment, search, or post their own videos. The private message and comment features also allow potential predators to connect with your child while posing as a younger kid. Kids familiar with these examples might be persuaded to do or share things they wouldn't normally do to get a larger audience. "Check that your child's TikTok account has been set up using the correct data of birth," advises Jo O'Reilly, digital privacy advocate at ProPrivacy. Social Media. Get your own TikTok account and educate yourself. Or you can use your phone contacts or social media followers to find friends already on the app. They may use these features to build trust with your child, which could lead to physical danger. Best answer: TikTok can be safe for kids 13 years and older. If it sounds like TikTok is fertile ground for a lot of fun and a good deal of trouble, that's because it is. Once logged in, you can find videos by searching for popular creators, categories (like comedy, animals, sports), and hashtags. How safe is TikTok? Our app reviews will guide you toward the best apps for this age group, and steer you away from the ones that aren't worth your time. You can choose from "Everyone," "Friends," and "Off.". Copyright 2023 NSPCC / All rights reserved. Parents' Ultimate Guide to TikTok | Common Sense Media For younger children, parents can turn on parental controls so they can restrict what content children can view. It only exists as part of a privacy lawsuit settled by TikTok, so most parents arent aware of it. Here are some of our favourite internet safety resources to help you learn more about e-safety for 6-10 year-olds and pass on the message to them. Online safety activities to do with your child. There are other ways to protect your child while they use the full version of the app, but doing so violates TikToks guidelines. Many kids on TikTok like to create videos, but plenty of people don't post themselvesthey just use the app to find and follow content creators. BuzzFeed News reported on the issue in June, noting that predators who lurk on the app often use "Duets" to send young creators explicit messages. yes it is probably a little inappropriate but it learns what you like and will mostly be showing them kid stuff. She herself did this with her tween son and they skipped past inappropriate posts and discussed why sharing certain content on the platform isn't wise. However, the Under 13 function of TikTok is safe for children who dont meet the age requirements. Anyone with an account can upload a video to the platform. If you are an Android or Amazon device family, you can also use Bark to monitor TikTok text chats. No, TikTok isnt safe for young users, but no social media platform is. Powerful Stories About Martin Luther King Jr. How can you make your TikTok account private? Many people and organizationsincluding the U.S. government and companies like Wells Fargoare worried that TikTok's parent company ByteDance (based in China) is using the app to spy on users in other countries. "TikTok is a platform that encourages performance, and many of its users are excited to showcase their talents. Only friends can comment on videos, and other users can't duet (explained below) with your videos. They can be songs, activities, or dances that start trending and then get copied by users on the platform. Being a kid these days is hard enough. Only users age 16 and over can livestream and use direct messaging, and only users over 18 can buy, send, or receive virtual gifts. Research out of China found that depression, anxiety, and stress stemming from TikTok addiction is linked to tied to poorer working memory for teens. At the end of the day, you are still the parent. TikTok is also a great way to connect with friends and other people with similar interests, making it easy to share videos back and forth. You might post videos on TikTok for everyone to see, but that doesn't necessarily mean you want everyone to be able to see who you're following or which videos you like. 2. TikToks Younger Users version is really just an absence of features, not a redesign of the app made for kids. Talk to your kids about your TikTok safety concerns, How to Set Up a Safe TikTok Account for Kids, White House Unveils National Cybersecurity Strategy, How to Watch UFC 285: Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane Live Worldwide, Watch Liverpool vs. Man United for Free: Premier League 2023, Dark Web: BidenCash Operators Leak Over 2 Million Bank Cards, How to Watch the 2023 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix for Free Online, Profile photo, profile video, and information disclosed on the users profile, IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, identifiers for advertising purposes, model of your device, the device system, network type, device IDs, screen resolution and operating system, app and file names and types, keystroke patterns or rhythms, battery state, audio settings, and connected audio devices, Device ID, IP address, web browser type, and version, Location information based on SIM card and/or IP address, precise location data (such as GPS)*, Preferences, list of followers, and list of following, Video watches, time in the app, and general usage data, Photographs, audios, and videos the user uploads or creates, comments and livestreams made by the user, clipboard data*, Phone contact list, Facebook contact list, Purchases made, date and time when purchases were made, amount spent, Payment card numbers or third-party payment information (such as PayPal), Click on the three dots at the top right corner and find the flag icon that says . 2K Likes, TikTok video from SharkTank (@sharktank_tiktok): "A 10-year-old girl introduces a safe and fun spoon design for kids - Part 2 #sharktank #foryou #fyp #projectpollo #deal #money #show #foryoupage #fyp". Kids may not realize that when they put a video out, they are telling people on the Internet things about themselves. Toggle the switch for Private Account. The solution isn't getting rid of the app, because there will always be another one. (If you choose Family Pairing, you'll need your kid's phone to sync the settings.). After all, why would a ten-year-old care about data security? If you. Age is just one factor. 4 Conversations to Have with Older Kids and Teens About Their Screen Time Habits. Choosing to monitor your child on social media can be a difficult decision, but doing whats best for their safety is the priority. Read a summary of the article here! Odds are theyll already know about some of the problems with social media and will be fine to make sure privacy settings are set correctly. "Even if you set your own account to private, you may still be exposed to sexual or violent content posted to the public feed," she says. TikTok is safe for 12-years olds, but only the curated version for users under the age of 13. Learn more about TikTok for Younger Users in our resource here. No place on the internet is entirely safe for kids, including the TikTok app. We want people to have fun on TikTok, but it's also important for our community to look after their wellbeing which means having a healthy relationship with online apps and services," according to TikTok. According to TikToks terms and conditions, all users must be at least 13 years of age to access the full application. The Duet feature lets you create a reaction split-screen video, combining half of your video with half of someone's else's video to create a single reaction video. Should a 10 year old child be using Tik Tok why or why not? Is TikTok safe for 11-year-olds? What you need to know Where there is social media, theres inappropriate content. Within TikToks security settings, there are three specific parental controls to help parents create a safer experience for their children. Social media is a double-edged sword, and you need to make sure they're ready. document.getElementById('enableRecite').addEventListener("click", function() { And bypassing that section only requires entering a false birth date, so it's not perfect. Is Snapchat Safe for Kids? - Parents Common Sense Media suggests that users of the app be at least 16 years old or older due to potential mature content and the issue of privacy, while TikTok requires users to be at least 13 years old. Learn more about Amazon Lockers. Users can block and report accounts or comments, but critics say TikTok is often slow in addressing reports. Social Media. Common Sense recommends the app for age 15+ mainly due to the privacy issues and mature content. According to TikToks Younger Users privacy policy, TikTok also collects data about your childs device like IP address, browser details, and location, as well as app activity details like time spent in the app, video watches, and general usage information. They want to be part of something cool, even if it turns out to be dangerous. loadService(); TikTok has a feature that allows two users who aren't in the same place to perform a duet. Is Tiktok Safe for 12 Year Olds? - HugATeen.com To turn on Restricted Mode, set a 4-digit passcode. Call us on0808 800 5000or contact us online. }); Weston House, 42 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3NH. Now, lip-synching is still a major theme on the app, but TikTok's content runs the gamut from clips involving taking weird challenges to others that feature songs destined to blow up pop charts. We all know that many kids younger than that are watching and sometimes creating TikToks, so the site suggests that if your younger child wants . But as kids have been continuing to hit download, parents are still wondering if it's safe. Is TikTok Safe for 10-Year-Olds? Understand the Dangers If a teen reaches their limit, they have to enter a passcode to keep scrolling. Hi, I'm Ashley Potter. If you have kids on TikTok, or even use the service yourself, it's important to familiarize yourself with all the features and settings TikTok provides to help bolster your privacy. A video tells others what they look like, their age, sometimes where they live and other personal information. Go toProfile>three-dash menu>Settings and privacy>Privacy>Mentions and tags,and configure these settings: You can restrict who mentions and tags you on TikTok. Terms of use / Disable all of the settings to stop your account from being suggested at all, which will make it harder to find. The next sections of this article then go over TikToks security features and settings to help users understand the app better. "Download the app yourself and see what it's all about so you can answer questions or even ask your child about what they're seeing on an app. Should I be concerned about TikTok's security? First, find the account you want to block and go to their profile. Read Common Sense Media's full review of TikTok, and learn more about this popular platform. I'm the mom of a beautiful girl and identical twin boys. Below, we provide general pointers on how to keep kids safe on TikTok. While it was established that TikTok doesnt use data any differently than other media platforms, they are not innocent. TikTok, like many other social media platforms, poses a significant danger to the mental, emotional, and physical health of children. Childrens Health is proud to become the first pediatric health system in the country to offer Amazon Lockers, self-service kiosks that allow you to pick up your Amazon packages when and where you need them most 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, TikTok does have several privacy and safety features built into the app. The social media company was also sued in the UK on the basis that the app collects childrens personal information and does not provide a clear explanation as to what the company does with the data. These are all opportunities to get a better feel for what they are doing while also giving them positive reinforcement for being responsible, safe, and maybe even creative or artistic. While full use of TikTok is technically limited to ages 13 and up, children can easily get around that by putting in a false birthdate. Teens are often more impulsive and more likely to do things online that they wouldnt normally do, especially when it comes to peer approval. In 2019, the companypaid a $5.7 million fine as part of a data privacy complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the company under its former name Musical.ly.