There are children and teenagers who spend a lot of time on TikTok spend. They watch short videos from others or produce their own TikToks. What exactly is viewed or published there, many parents do not know and worry – also about the fact that their child can come into contact with strangers .
After much criticism of the app, TikTok has introduced “accompanied mode” for parental control. This allows you, as the parent or guardian, to control how long the app can be used, whether private messages can be sent and received, and what content is displayed on the “For You” page. Click here for a detailed presentation of the app.
It’s understandable that you, as a parent, are concerned when your child is on social media platforms. Therefore, before using such apps, you should calmly talk to your child about what they are interested in. Explain your concerns to him and make him understand what risks there are in using it. If you are okay with your child using TikTok, ask regularly and stay interested. Let them show you what your child is doing there. You must consent to its use if your child is under 16 years of age.
The app is not suitable for children under the age of 13 – as stated in TikTok‘s terms of use. Nevertheless, there are already younger children who use the app. If you allow your child to do this despite the age restriction, consider whether they might watch TikTok videos without their own account first. Because this is possible via a browser!
If your child is allowed to create a TikTok account with your permission and you choose to use the Accompanied Mode set it up as follows:
TikTok must be installed on your child’s smartphone and on your own device. You can find the Accompanied Mode in the “Digital Wellbeing” settings under “Privacy and Settings”. On the parent’s device, clicking on it opens a QR code that is scanned with your child’s smartphone. By doing so, your child agrees that you, as the parent, may control its use. IMPORTANT: Talk to your child beforehand about the functions in accompanied mode and consider together what should be switched on and to what extent:
Note that there are other setting options in TikTok outside of Accompanied Modethat should definitely be enabled. For example, set the account to private so that your child’s videos can’t be seen by strangers.
As a parent, you cannot track what content is being viewed. They also cannot read messages or comments, so your child’s privacy is preserved as much as possible. If you trust your child and he or she is already able to use media consciously and safely, it is certainly nicer to be able to do without this control option. Otherwise, you should regularly discuss whether certain settings can be changed.
