How do I set up TikTok for kids?

TikTok has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming one of the most downloaded and used social media apps worldwide. As of 2022, TikTok has been downloaded over 672 million times, with over 1 billion monthly active users globally (statista.com/topics/6077/tiktok/). With its fun videos, viral trends, and popularity among kids and teens, it’s no wonder many parents want to allow their children to use TikTok.

However, TikTok does require caution and parental oversight to use safely, especially for younger kids. Setting up parental controls and privacy settings is crucial. TikTok has minimum age requirements, and there are risks of overuse, inappropriate content exposure, and communication with strangers. That’s why it’s so important for parents to configure TikTok properly for their kids.

In this guide, we’ll provide parents with tips to set up TikTok safely for children. We’ll cover the minimum age requirements, making a private account, setting screen time limits, enabling Restricted Mode, monitoring comments and usage, configuring privacy settings, and having ongoing conversations about safe social media use.

Minimum Age Requirements

TikTok’s official minimum age to use the app is 13 and older. This age limit is in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits online services from collecting personal information from children under 13 without verified parental consent.

There are a few good reasons why TikTok set their minimum age at 13:

– Children under 13 may not have the maturity and judgement to make safe decisions about sharing personal information and interacting with strangers online. Setting an age limit helps protect younger kids.

– The 13+ age aligns with minimum age requirements of other major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. This creates consistency across platforms.

– Kids under 13 are more susceptible to peer pressure and have a harder time understanding the permanence of posting content online. An older minimum age helps ensure users understand the implications of posting.

Allowing younger children under 13 to use TikTok unsupervised can be risky. Without parental controls, kids may:

– Share personal information like their location, school, email, or phone number.
– Interact with strangers who may have ill intentions.

– Be exposed to inappropriate content.
– Become targets of bullying or predators.
– Develop issues like lack of sleep, addiction, or poor self-image.

That’s why it’s critical for parents to be involved if kids under 13 are using TikTok. Setting up safety features can help mitigate these risks.

Create a Private Account

It’s strongly recommended to set up a private account for your child, as this provides much more control over privacy and security. Private accounts on TikTok have a number of key benefits compared to public accounts:

• Only approved followers can view and interact with your child’s videos.
• Others users cannot duet/stitch your child’s videos without approval.
• Your child’s account and videos will not show up in searches or recommendations to other users.
• Comment filtering and approvals provide more control over interactions.

To create a private account, first have your child log into their TikTok account, then go to their profile page and tap the three dot menu in the top right. Select “Privacy and safety” then toggle “Private account” to on. You’ll then be prompted to approve or deny follower requests.

In addition to making the account private, it’s also recommended to:

• Disable “Suggest your account to others” in account privacy settings.
• Disable “Allow others to find me” under account privacy.
• Disable “Allow others to view my liked videos” under privacy settings.

Taking these steps will maximize privacy by restricting your child’s account and videos from being surfaced to other users without approval. Monitor the approved followers list regularly to ensure it only includes known friends/family.

Set Screen Time Limits

It’s important to limit the amount of time kids spend on TikTok and other social media apps. As of 2023, teens in the US report spending an average of 1.5 hours per day on TikTok alone. Excessive social media use has been linked to negative mental health effects in kids like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

To limit TikTok time on your child’s device, make use of built-in parental controls. On iPhones and iPads, enable Screen Time in Settings to set daily limits and restrict access during certain hours. Android users can try apps like Family Link. You can also restrict TikTok directly by setting a passcode to open it.

Additionally, TikTok now allows users to limit their own daily screen time right in the app. Users can set a daily screen time limit of 40, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. Once the limit is reached, TikTok will prompt users to take a break. This can encourage more self-regulation, but parent-imposed limits are still recommended for kids under 18.

Enable Restricted Mode

TikTok’s Restricted Mode allows parents to limit the appearance of potentially mature or complex content. When enabled, Restricted Mode hides videos that may contain mature themes, violence, drugs, alcohol, and more from a user’s For You and Following feeds. This can help parents control what content their kids are exposed to on the app.

To enable Restricted Mode in TikTok:

1. Open your profile by tapping the “Me” tab.
2. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner.
3. Select “Settings and privacy” > “Digital wellbeing” > “Restricted mode”.
4. Toggle “Restricted mode” on.

Restricted Mode can be useful for limiting exposure to mature content. However, it’s not perfect and may sometimes filter out non-offensive videos. It’s important for parents to still monitor their child’s TikTok usage and have ongoing conversations about online safety and digital citizenship.

https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/restricted-mode

Monitor Comments

One of the risks of TikTok is that users can easily post inappropriate or hurtful comments, especially on videos featuring children. According to a report by Cyberbullying Research Center, 4.2% of comments analyzed contained clear harassment, with higher rates on celebrity accounts (https://cyberbullying.org/Harassment-in-TikTok-Comments-Research-API-Report.pdf). Exposure to negative comments can impact kids’ self-esteem and mental health.

To help protect kids, you can disable comments on their videos entirely by going to the “Privacy and Safety” section in settings and toggling “Allow Comments” off. You can also enable comment filtering by keyword – go to “Privacy and Safety” and enable “Filter Comments” to block comments containing inappropriate words.

It’s also important to have ongoing conversations with kids about hurtful comments and how to handle them emotionally. Monitoring your child’s TikTok feed and comments and talking through any issues can help mitigate potential harms.

Configure Privacy Settings

There are a few key privacy settings to adjust to help keep your child’s information private on TikTok:

• Make videos private by default – Go to “Privacy and Safety” settings and toggle “Private account” on. This will make any new videos only visible to followers approved by your child.
• Limit profile visibility – Adjust “Who can view my profile” to “Friends” so only approved followers can see profile information.
• Disable sharing user analytics – Go to “Privacy” settings and toggle “Share analytics to TikTok” off to prevent sharing data.
• Turn off suggested users – Go to “Privacy” settings and disable “Suggest your account to others” so the account is not suggested to strangers.

It’s also important to have conversations with your child about not sharing personal information like their name, location, school, birthday, or contact information on their public TikTok profile or in videos.

Making videos private by default is the best way to prevent information sharing with strangers. Regularly checking your child’s privacy settings ensures maximum control over their account security and online presence.

Monitor Usage with Family Pairing

TikTok’s Family Pairing feature allows parents to link their TikTok account to their child’s account to monitor and control their child’s TikTok usage and settings (TikTok introduces Family Pairing). With Family Pairing enabled, parents can:

• Monitor screen time – Set daily limits and control digital wellbeing
• Restrict mode – Limit the appearance of inappropriate content
• Direct messages – Restrict who can send messages or turn off direct messaging
• Search – Decide if search is limited or turned off
• Discoverability – Make the account private

To set up Family Pairing (TikTok Help Center):

1. Open your TikTok app and go to your profile page
2. Tap the menu button in the top right and choose “Family safety”
3. Tap “Family Pairing” and follow the on-screen instructions to link your child’s account
4. Once linked, you can monitor settings and activity from your own account settings

With Family Pairing, parents can keep better tabs on their child’s TikTok usage without compromising their privacy.

Have Ongoing Conversations

It’s important to have regular conversations with kids about online safety and etiquette. Discuss treating others with respect, avoiding oversharing of personal details, and being cautious about who they interact with online. Encourage them to come to you if they experience issues like cyberbullying so you can provide support.

According to the UK Safer Internet Centre, open communication helps build trust and increases the likelihood kids will report any problems. Recognize signs they may be distressed about their online experiences, like reluctance to go to school or a dip in mood or grades [1]. Create an environment where they feel comfortable confiding in you.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recommends asking engaging questions about their online activities rather than interrogating them. Listen without judgement and use their experiences as teaching moments for how to respond in the future.

Conclusion

In summary, there are several key things parents and guardians can do to help keep kids safe while using TikTok.

First, enable all available restrictions like private accounts, screen time limits, Restricted Mode, and Family Pairing. Combining multiple layers of protection is important. Relying on just one may not be enough.

Monitor your child’s usage and have open conversations about staying safe online. Talk about interacting appropriately, protecting personal information, and thinking before posting. Provide guidance but avoid being overly restrictive.

Keep an eye on comments and who your child is connecting with. Have them report any suspicious activity or hurtful content right away.

While TikTok can be fun and creative for teens, it requires active parenting. Taking the right precautions allows kids to get the most from it safely.

For more tips, visit TikTok’s safety center or connect with other parents and experts online to stay up to date.