TikTok will be expanding its Family Pairing parental controls as part of its effort in “supporting parents and helping teens build digital habits”. New features will be added to the app to allow parents to set schedules for teenagers and monitor who they follow through the social media platform.
Time Away is the addition that lets parents decide when their child needs a break from the app by creating a custom schedule that limits access. This will encourage the teen to focus on school, their families and getting enough rest. Requests for additional screen time may be sent by the teens, but it is at the discretion of the parents whether to allow it or not.
Another new feature also allows parents to access their teens’ follower list, including the accounts that follow them, and the ones they have blocked. According to TikTok, an option will be added in the upcoming months that teens can use to notify their parents regarding a video they report that potentially broke platform rules.
Additionally, parents will also have more control over the app settings. This includes being able to turn on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) feed if disabled, set daily screen time limits, and turn the profile viewability setting to private if it was made public.
A wind down feature will be introduced as well, aiming to “encourage young people to switch off at night”. Kids below 16 who are on the app past 10pm will receive a prompt with calming music to encourage them to turn off the app. In the event they continue scrolling, a second prompt will appear that is harder to dismiss. The prompts will feature meditation exercises, which the company states will help improve sleep quality.
(Source: TikTok)
Manisha Dharmendra contributed to this article.
