Last week TikTok announced that accounts owned by those under 18yrs will automatically have a one-hour daily limit, which cannot be overridden. TikTok then goes on to say users can choose to disable the limit, but they will be prompted to set a daily screen time limit for themselves if they use TikTok for more than 100 minutes per day.

Then there is more…….If a teen reaches the 60-minute limit, they will see a passcode prompt which they will need to enter to continue watching – a way of forcing them to make an “active decision” to extend that time.  Additionally, parents can use the “Family Pairing” feature (which has been around for quite some time) to link their account to their child’s and set a custom screen-time limit that cannot be overridden.

Confused as to what is actually happening? so are we!

Family Pairing (which has been around for quite some time) allows parents to restrict some content and place restrictions on who the child can message on the app. For families with this setting in place, the parent account must make any adjustment to screen time limits.  Currently, accounts for users aged 13-15 won’t receive notifications from the app after 9 pm, and ages 16-17 won’t see notifications from 10 pm if they have activated Family Pairing.

TikTok’s Family Pairing requires a strong level of trust between parent and child to ensure the child declares their account or accounts to their parent and agrees to be part of the Family Pairing system. It will work in some cases but not others.

The new default screen time limit of 60 minutes daily will start in the coming weeks.
While these new features (as confusing as they are) are seen as beneficial for the digital well-being of children, we must never “set and forget.”

Please continue to have open conversations about rules, limits, and what to do when things go wrong. There has been no word on the restriction of actual content. Kids may see wildly inappropriate, violent, or disturbing content in 60mins.

To activate Family Pairing which was introduced in April 2020 as part of TikTok’s efforts to enhance user safety and provide more parental control on the app.

1. Open the TikTok app and log in to your account.
2. Go to your profile by tapping on the “Me” icon at the bottom right corner of the screen.
3. Tap on the three dots in the top right corner to access your settings.
4. Scroll down to the “Digital Wellbeing” section and tap on “Family Pairing.”
5. Tap “Continue” and choose whether you’re a parent or a teen.
6. If you’re a parent, follow the prompts to connect your account to your child’s account. If you’re a teen, you’ll need to enter your parent’s TikTok username and password.
7. Once connected, you can set screen time limits, restrict certain types of content, and control who your child can message on the app.
8. You can also set a passcode to prevent your child from changing the Family Pairing settings without your permission.
9. To access your Family Pairing settings in the future, go back to your settings and tap “Family Pairing.”

From Kirra Pendergast, Safe on Social.