Even with uncertainty surrounding the TikTok ban, the platform is still trying to address safety concerns with a new reminder that tells teens to stop using the app at night and more controls for parents. If a teen under 16 is still using the app after 10PM, TikTok will interrupt their feed with a full-screen “wind down” reminder, which will play “calming music to help teens relax and be mindful of the time.”
TikTok is making some updates to its Family Pairing feature as well, which already lets parents put restrictions on their child’s account. It’s launching a new Time Away feature that will allow parents or caregivers to prevent their child from going on TikTok during specific times, as well as set a recurring schedule. TikTok will also give parents the ability to see who their teen is following, who follows them, and which accounts their child has blocked.
Though teens can ignore TikTok’s initial 10PM reminder, it will display another prompt that’s harder to dismiss. TikTok plans on expanding this wind-down feature in the future, as it’s going to start testing incorporating meditation exercises into the reminder “in the coming weeks.”
Additionally, TikTok says it will continue to use age assurance technology, including machine learning, to prevent children under 13 from using the app. It’s partnering with the telecom company Telefonica “to understand how people can use age information from their phone provider to confirm their age.” Google also recently announced that it would start using machine learning to estimate users’ ages.
