TikTok's large user base is underage. As we have seen on other occasions, social networks are already a very important part of the lives of adolescents. However, networks are a double-edged sword. Many experts consider that the networks can be used to lengthen the episodes of bullying that occur in schools and institutes, what we commonly call 'cyberbullying'. For that same reason, TikTok has had to study its platform, its users and take action on the matter.
Privacy and security on TikTok, a delicate issue
For some time now, all profiles of children under 16 years of age registered on TikTok have experienced a series of automatic changes. In this way, both the to maximise security and your enjoyment. and privacy of minors on the platform. Do you need to know more? If you're a parent and you're concerned about your kids' use of TikTok, here's what they can and can't do if they're under 16.
Social networks are the favorite habitat of many adolescents and not so adolescents today. Some people invest a lot of time in them creating content and, above all, consuming what other users publish. For this reason, it is logical that each time they look with more interest at what they do and what measures they apply with those profiles that belong to minors.
TikTok is aware that a large percentage of its users are minors. They also know that many parents and guardians are concerned about the safety and privacy of the minors in their care. Therefore, any measure or change that helps protect them will always be welcome. The security measures of a social network like this have to be prepared both to protect minors from other users of legal age and to guarantee that minors do not commit abuses against other people of the same age.
The latest developments on the platform have been focused on precisely that, the security and privacy of those under 16 years of age. So if you are a father, mother, guardian or simply a teenager who has not yet turned 16, you are interested in knowing what has changed and what you can and cannot do within TikTok. Maybe you even understand why you may now receive fewer comments or your videos have fewer views. Minors now receive less feedback on their posts in exchange for greater security that will allow them to avoid harassment from other minor users and start conversations with users who do not have good intentions.
Everything you won't be able to do if you're under 16
These changes apply automatically to all profiles whose users are between the ages of 13 and 15. Let's remember that, according to the terms and conditions of TikTok, minors under 13 years of age cannot register on this social network. For the same reason, they reserve the right to delete any profile that registers on the social network without reaching that minimum age.
Accounts are private by default for minors
From now on, the accounts of users who are under 16 years of age become private TikTok accounts. That means that only the people who have been accepted as followers will be able to see the videos that are published by said profile.
It is true that this setting can be changed and return the profile to public, but if you only want people you "know" to see such content, then it is better not to do it.
Comments will be limited
The other important change that TikTok applied to the profiles of children under 16 years of age is that They will only be able to receive comments from their friends on the platform. A stranger will not be able to comment on any publication even if the profile and its contents are public.
Thanks to this measure, the possibility of the minor suffering harassment or situations that may be unpleasant is eliminated. And if it happens to you, you will know exactly who does it because it will be your "Friends" who will be able to comment, no one else.
TikTok Duo and the Paste option
The TikTok Duo option is the one that allows you to use the video posted by another user of the platform to create a new version or make a kind of reaction to it. It's a very creative option, but it can also be a bit dangerous.
Therefore, now only those who are over 16 years old will be able to use TikTok duos. But there is more. If the profile belongs to a minor who is 16 or 17 years old, by default, we will be limited to making this type of content as a couple only with users who are our friends, that is, those users that we follow and follow us within the social network. This change also applies to TikTok's 'Paste' feature.
Download Limit
The only ones content that can be downloaded from TikTok will be those that have been created by users over 16 years old. In addition, by default, user profiles of 16 and 17 years old will have this option deactivated by default, so if they want to allow it they will have to consciously and voluntarily activate it, which would necessarily have to go through some kind of supervision by the mother or the father.
Recommend your account to others
In the same way that restrictions have been applied to functions such as comments or who sees the content of a minor's account, the profiles of between 13 and 15 years will not see their recommended content to other users by default. Minors who want to follow each other will have to do so by sharing their account name, either in person, through other social networks or from external applications. This measure can be deactivated in settings if you wish to keep the configuration as in a normal account.
Changes needed in TikTok
These changes applied by TikTok in the profiles of those under 16 years of age They are to a certain extent very necessary, because many users are not aware of the risks involved in being constantly and publicly exposed on the Internet at all hours, uploading, sharing and commenting on everything that appears on the screen of their smartphones.
Enabling default settings that prevent strangers from seeing what's being shared is a wise move. In addition, they remove specific things, such as everything can be changed to public if desired, it is already the user himself or whoever manages the account who dedicates if he has sufficient technological and personal education to know how to deal with every possible situation that could be found.
So in summary, this is everything you won't be able to do with an account for children under 16:
- By default, only your friends will be able to see your posts
- Only your friends will again be able to comment on your content
- Your videos can only be downloaded if you are 16 years old or older and by default only your friends
- Only if you are over 16 years old can you use the Duos function
- User accounts between the ages of 13 and 15 will not be recommended
Other help to protect child accounts
Along with all these default applications changes by TikTok, if as a father, mother or legal guardian you want to have Extra tools to control the activity of minors in the network, then you can go to the options of family safety.
To use this, which is still parental controls, the first thing you have to do is link the minor's account with the TikTok application that you install. These would be the steps:
- Download the TikTok app and create your own account
- Start the app and enter the profile settings. You can reach these by clicking on the icon of the stick figure in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Click on the menu of the three stripes in the upper right corner.
- Access the section "Family Synchronization" and follow the steps that TikTok itself tells you.
- Now, within the profile settings themselves, locate the menu of digital detox
- In this section you can configure the different settings of your child's account such as "Screen time management" or "Restricted mode" to limit certain types of content that might be inappropriate for them.
Done, from now on you can apply a series of adjustments such as limiting the time of use, the appearance or not of content that you may think is inappropriate and even everything related to who can see or not content, send and receive messages direct etc
And what about the challenges?
One of the fears that invade parents when they decide to open an account for their children on social networks like TikTok is theThe existence of what have been called "challenges" or "challenges" in English. These are real occurrences (on many occasions, in others they are harmless evidence) that lead minors to carry out activities that, in certain cases, can lead to fatal accidents.
Unfortunately, accounts for minors cannot avoid being affected by the viralization of a last challenges that becomes fashionable among the kids, which forces us fathers, mothers and guardians to be vigilant and know what is going on around them and their profiles. It is a task that can take precious time, but it is necessary if we want certain fashions that only last a few days to end up affecting our children.
Although as we have indicated on other occasions, fast communication with the boys and a good digital education they can prevent them from committing reckless acts, especially with this type of test that sometimes, due to their youth, fails to calculate their risk.
And what happens when they reach 18?
If you fear that when your children reach the age of majority you will lose part of these parental controls, it must be said that, indeed, the restrictions will stop applying automatically, going to situate itself with the same range of privileges as that of any account of another adult in the social network. From here, the only thing that will free the girl or boy from potential problems is the digital education that we have instilled in them so that they can make a rational and conscious use of everything they publish.
Anyway, that absence of restrictions that you have when you turn 18 does not mean that you cannot coexist with some type of tacit agreement between parents and children when using the social network, both in the hours they spend in front of the screen every day and in the nature of their account (public or private) as well as the type of content they share: avoiding photos, videos or information that can reveal where they are, where they live, etc. And that they are practically applicable to anyone who wants to safely use one of these platforms.
Above all, it is essential to convey to them the idea that anything they post on a social network, and therefore the internet, is set in stone for the remains so it is impossible to remove it. An error when publishing a photo can become a planetary meme used by millions of people every day and for these situations, you have to be very well prepared. The solution, obviously, is not to stop posting or sharing special moments on social networks, but to do it with a head and without crossing red lines that could end the privacy and anonymity of the youngest. And in this work, parents have the clearest role as guides in the first years of adulthood.