The daily screen-time cap for TikTok users under 13 will also be set to 60 minutes, and for these accounts, a parent or guardian must enter a passcode to permit an additional 30 minutes of viewing time. Teens 13 and older can, of course, choose to ignore or reject the 60-minute default. TikTok will offer users to set a daily screen time limit if they disable the 60-minute screen time limit and use the app for more than 100 minutes each day. Also, the app will send a weekly inbox message with a summary of each teen account’s screen time.
“Although there’s no collectively agreed position on the ‘proper’ amount of screen time or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we examined the latest academic research and specialists from the Digital Wellbeing Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital in determining this restriction,” Keenan explained.
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Parental control features of TikTok
Additionally, TikTok is introducing three new parental-control features: a screen-time dashboard that offers summaries of time spent on the app, the frequency with which TikTok was opened, and a breakdown of total time spent during the day and night; and a new setting that enables parents to set a schedule to limit their children’s screen time. According to TikTok, accounts for users between the ages of 13 and 15 have had push notifications turned off since 9 p.m., while accounts for users between the ages of 16 and 17 have had them turned off since 10 p.m.
Everyone will soon be able to create their own personalized screen time limits for each day of the week and set a timetable to silence notifications, in addition to adding these new features to Family Pairing, Keenan said. In order to “assist individuals more easily arrange when they want to go offline at night,” TikTok is also introducing a sleep reminder.
The app poses a threat to national security
The new features expand on the existing safety options for teen accounts on TikTok. Account privacy is set to private by default for users aged 13 to 15, direct messaging is only available to users aged 16 and above, and livestreaming is only available to users aged 18 and up.
The modifications come as politicians in the US and other nations have criticised the well-known short-form video app, owned by China’s ByteDance, for posing a threat to national security. According to proposed legislation in Congress, President Biden would have the power to impose a ban on TikTok in the United States under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
