TikTok has announced it will roll out a new update that will place a 60-minute time limit for all accounts of users under the age of 18. In what appears to be a clear attempt to help teenagers manage their time on social media more effectively, the Chinese-owned firm is welcoming a bunch of new changes which they hope will improve the well-being of its younger audience.
Through an extensive amount of academic research, the statement by the company expressed that while there’s no accurate study that can tell what would be “too much’ time spent on the app, TikTok recognizes that teenagers may sometimes need “extra support” after scrolling through their timeline. “If the 60-minute limit is reached, teens will be prompted to enter a passcode in order to continue watching, requiring them to make an active decision to extend that time,” they said.
TikTok has announced that every user under 18 will soon have their accounts default to a one-hour daily screen time limit https://t.co/Pi1Ilows9o pic.twitter.com/OKSeLH8Czw
— CNN (@CNN) March 1, 2023
RELATED: Shocking Video Captures New Jersey Transit Driver Open Fire On Teens
The same goes for people under 13, who will soon be prompted to get their parent or guardian to enter a passcode after the 60-minute screen time has been used. The code will allow that individual to spend another 30 minutes on TikTok before the app will require the passcode again. Parents will also be able to see their child’s overall day-to-day use on TikTok under the Family Pairing feature, which includes a detailed breakdown of what times they tend to be most active. The time limit feature can be turned off, but TikTok is highly encouraging every teenager to, at the very least, give it a chance.
And a feature that’s expected to come out in the near future is tighter content controls, which will allow parents to filter out videos based on whatever hashtags they want to restrict their child from seeing. A sleep reminder is also coming to the app, along with a mute notifications button, which should help the TikTok user find it easier to get off the app and go to sleep if they tend to frequently browse the app during the night.
😳 TikTok announces “every account belonging to a user below age 18” will automatically be set to a 60-minute daily screen time limit.” Teens will be prompted to enter a passcode to continue watching pic.twitter.com/5sBCrflH2R
— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) March 1, 2023
News of TikTok’s latest safety update comes shortly after the company revealed it was going to start delivering car integration, meaning that instead of just watching TikTok videos on your phone, providing you have one of the supported cars, clips can be watched from the comfort of your car. Mercedes Benz vehicles from late 2023 will include the TikTok app, allowing people to watch content from the vehicle’s “super screen.”
Socialites, are y’all here for the changes TikTok is implementing to make the app safer for teenagers?