TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the iOS App Store, particularly amongst younger users. In a blog post published Thursday, Alexandra Evans, Head of Child Safety Public Policy and Aruna Sharma, Global Head of Privacy, outlined new features to protect younger users. These include changes to direct messages and more control over who can view certain videos.
New Safety and Privacy Features For Younger TikTok Teens
From now, when a 16 or 17-year-old joins TikTok, by default their Direct Messaging setting will be ‘No One’. This means that have to actively change in order to send a message. “Existing accounts who have never used DMs before will receive a prompt asking them to review and confirm their privacy settings the next time they use this feature,” according to the post.
When teens under the age of 16 publish their fist video, they will be asked who can view it. It will not be possible to publish the video until a selection is made. Furthermore, those aged 16 and 17 will be able asked to confirm who can download their videos, if that feature is turned on. It is permanently disable for those who are under the aged of 16.
TikTok also explained that it is changing when younger teenagers can receive push notifications from the app:
Accounts aged 13-15 will not receive push notifications from 9pm, and accounts aged 16-17 will have push notifications disabled starting at 10pm.