Or you can use your phone contacts or social media followers to find friends already on the app. Once logged in, you can search popular creators, categories (comedy, animals, sports), and hashtags to find videos. Tik Tok users sign up with a phone number, an email address, or a third-party account such as Facebook and Instagram. Parents can also use Restricted Mode to reduce mature content or Family Safety Mode to pair their account with their kid's to control settings completely. TikTok also offers some tools for parents to limit how much time kids spend on the app and what kids can see. Only users 16 and over can livestream and use direct messaging, and only users over 18 can buy, send, or receive virtual gifts.
Users under 13 can't post videos or comment, and content is curated for a younger audience.įor kids age 13 to 15, accounts are private by default only friends can comment on videos, and other users can't duet (explained below) with your videos. TikTok has different rules for different ages: Using any social network can be risky, but it's possible for kids to safely use the app with adult supervision (and a private account). These videos can be grouped by hashtags, which often correspond to challenges, memes, or current events (i.e., #pandemiclife) How safe is TikTok?
You can also browse and interact with other users' content, which covers a wide range of topics, songs, and styles. Users can create and upload their own videos where they lip-synch, sing, dance, or just talk. TikTok (originally called musical.ly) is a social network for sharing user-generated videos, mostly of people lip-synching to popular songs.
Should I be concerned about TikTok's security? What is TikTok? What if my kid wants to get famous on TikTok? How can I monitor my kid's activity on TikTok? How can you make your TikTok account private?
Read Common Sense Media's full review of TikTok, and help your kids use it safely with answers to parents' most frequently asked questions below.
And other issues have dogged the app: reports of online predators using the app to target younger users an FTC suit for violating children's privacy law and serious software glitches - including one that could have allowed the company to collect user data. Because you can post videos immediately without first reviewing or editing them, kids can upload impulsively. As with any social network, you have to use privacy settings to limit how much information you and your kids are sharing. While much of TikTok is harmless fun, there are real concerns about kids using the app. And though the app has generated controversy, it can be a fun, creative outlet for tweens and teens (and parents!) when used safely and responsibly.
With more than 100 million users in the United States alone, TikTok has innovative video-editing features, viral dances, and celebrity cameos that make it incredibly popular.
TikTok is a free social media app that lets you watch, create, and share videos - often to a soundtrack of the top hits in music - right from your phone. With so many social networks to keep track of, it's not surprising if your kid's obsession with the TikTok app leaves you scratching your head.