 |
| Tik Tok expands security measures for young users |
TikTok is looking at more protection for younger users, new restrictions on sending direct messages to teens, and adding warnings to certain features to better indicate who can access their content.
To restrict access to unsolicited direct messages, the platform now disables messages by default for users aged 16-17.
The platform said, “We want to help teens make positive decisions about their privacy settings. So when 16-17-year-olds join the platform, the direct messaging setting is now set to 'Nobody' by default. To send messages to others, they must They have different options for sharing the switch.
The platform also highlighted that existing accounts of teens who haven't used direct messages before will now be asked to review and confirm their privacy settings while using the feature.
Last April, the platform discontinued the direct messaging option for all existing accounts of users under the age of 16.
Although teens over 16 can still turn this option back on. But additional steps can limit abuse of DMs and target younger app users.
More importantly, the platform has also added a new popup reminder that shows users under 16 during the video download process and asks them to select who can view the video.
Tik Tok expands security measures
The platform says: Accounts between 13 and 15 years old are set as private by default. Private accounts can share their content with followers or friends as the "Everyone" setting has been deactivated. Duet and Stitch have also disabled accounts under 16 years of age.
The added phrase helps reduce unnecessary exposure and encourages teens to reconsider the posting process. This can reduce potential damage.
The platform also hopes to add more context to the teen upload process. Provide notifications about how features like downloading work and who can take such action.
These are the platform's latest measures to protect young users. In January, it announced several similar features. This includes switching all accounts created by users between the ages of 13 and 15 to "Private" by default.
According to an internal study published last year, more than a third of the app's users are under the age of 14. Given the platform's growing popularity, the platform needs to take steps to provide additional protections to prevent potential abuse.