On August 12, TikTok announced new safety features for the 13-17 year age group on the short-form video platform. The previous safety and privacy features released to safeguard young people on TikTok include: assigning accounts as private by default, restrictions on the Direct Messaging and many more.
TikTok asserted their focus on developing new safety and privacy settings for teens on the platform:
“These changes continue to build on our ongoing commitments as there’s no finish line when it comes to protecting the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community. We’re working with teens, community organizations, parents, and creators to further innovate and we’re excited to share more over the coming months.”
With the new features, teen users aged 16-17 can now choose who can view and download their TikTok videos. If the download option feature is enabled, a pop-up prompt will enquire on accessibility to download their videos and be shared on other platforms. However, accounts of users under the age of 16 are permanently disabled from downloads.
In addition to this, TikTok aims to promote a healthy screen time among teenagers by turning off notifications for users under the age of 16 from 9PM local time with 16 and 17 year old users receiving notifications from 10PM.