In the fast-growing social media world, TikTok has become one of the most popular video-making platforms especially among teenagers. Young content creators not only show off their skills but learn about the latest trends, new technology and essential skills. However, on the other hand, parents are also getting concerned about the online safety of their children and want to stay aware of their online activities.
Keeping the genuine safety concerns of parents in mind, TikTok has an important feature called Family Pairing. The option enables parents to look after their children and assures their online safety.
The feature will also create a bond of trust between parents and children and also bridge the communication gap between them. Parents will learn to trust their children, while teenagers will develop a sense of responsibility while creating content.
In fact, parents do not have to use the devices of their teens and can conveniently oversee the TikTok accounts of children from their personal mobile devices. For those who are still unaware of the feature, let’s explore the option in detail.
Want To Assure A Safer TikTok Experience For Your Child? Here’s How You Can Do It
The Family Pairing offers a series of customized safety settings. After the parents have created their TikTok account, they can easily link it to their child’s account. Different safety settings offered in the feature include:
Daily screen time:
Time management is the core concern of parents. They want teens to use the app in a disciplined manner. With the help of Daily Screen Time, parents can set a time limit for children to use the app. Even if the teen has multiple devices, the setting will automatically apply to all those devices.
Restricted Mode:
TikTok has a strict policy when it comes to content quality and only appropriate content is allowed on the platform. However, parents sometimes feel that certain types of content can be unsuitable for their teens. The Restrict Mode helps parents to block content that they believe could harm their child.
Search:
By using the Search setting, a parent can decide which person, content, and hashtag the child can explore. They can also choose which specific sound should be blocked from the search bar.
Discoverability:
With the help of the Discoverability setting, the teen’s account can be set to two modes. First is the ‘private mode’ that gives teens the authority to decide who can view their profile. The second is ‘public mode,’ which allows anyone to go through the account.
Suggest account to others:
Like other social media platforms, TikTok also offers a list of suggested accounts. By using Suggest Account, the parent has authority whether to feature the teen’s account on the recommended list or not.
Going the extra mile:
In addition to aforementioned settings, TikTok’s Family Pairing provides control over some crucial options. This includes Direct Messages where the parent can either switch off the message option or restrict who can send a message on the teens’ account. It is pertinent to mention here that direct message is unavailable for teenagers aged 13-15.
Subsequently, parents have the authority to decide who can browse the videos their teens like and restrict people’s comments as well.
For now, parental control is available only for mobile applications. For TikTok on mobile web and desktop browsers, Google’s family center or Apple’s parental control (for iOS) can be used.
