Are TikTok’s Parental Controls Enough To Keep Your Teen Safe?

TikTok has parental controls to help monitor and filter what content your child sees on the platform. While there are a variety of settings you can put in place, they don’t control everything you may want to monitor. Still, it’s worth setting up these TikTok controls so your child has protection from the more adult content available.

Below, we walk you through how to set up the most important parental filters on TikTok. If you’ve already set these up but still want more protection, consider some of the best parental control apps available. We have suggestions on our favorites and other tips for teaching your teens responsible internet usage.

Does TikTok have parental controls?

Yes, TikTok offers several types of controls for parents, including Restricted Mode and Comment Care Mode, which can help parents set limits and make TikTok safer. Since TikTok requires users to be 13 or older, the controls are geared toward parents assisting teens to navigate the platform safely.

TikTok’s parental controls include features such as:

• Restricted Mode
• Comment Care Mode
• Keyword filters
• Screen time limits
• Muting push notifications
• Optional STEM feed viewing
• Linking to a parental account
• Searchability
• Discoverability
• Suggested account settings
• Direct messaging capabilities
• Liked video features

What is Family Pairing?

Family Pairing allows you to link your TikTok account with your teens so you can help them manage their online usage of the platform. It enables the linked adult to set controls and customize safety settings.

While you can set up some of the parental controls without Family Pairing, such as Restricted Mode, it will require you to make each individual change to your child’s account. This can be time-consuming, so it’s a lot easier to just link your accounts.

How to set up Family Pairing

Setting up Family Pairing is simple and shouldn’t take that much time:

1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom
2. Select Settings and Privacy in the Menu
3. Tap Family Pairing
4. Choose Parent or Teen
5. Follow the steps to link the accounts

To begin setting limits, you need to go into the Family Pairing dashboard. You can access it by:

1. Go to Family Pairing in TikTok’s Settings menu
2. Select the account you want to manage
3. Update the settings as needed

Now that you’ve set up Family Pairing, you can begin to customize controls for your child. You can turn on time limits, mute push notifications, and change discoverability as well as set other filters.

How to set up Restricted Mode

Restricted Mode is a filter that limits content on TikTok. It filters out more sensitive content and restricts certain features. When Restricted Mode is active, you won’t be able to view the Following feed, go Live, or leave gifts for others in Live Mode. It’s accessible on each TikTok account, or you can set it up through Family Pairing.

To turn on Restricted Mode:

1. Go to Settings and Privacy
2. Tap Content preferences
3. Toggle Restricted Mode to on
4. Follow the steps in the app to set a passcode

How to turn on Comment Care Mode

Comment Care Mode helps make TikTok a friendlier place for your teen. We’ve all seen how negative the comments section can be on any video, no matter the content. Enabling Comment Care Mode means you’ll filter out inappropriate or offensive comments and flag them as inappropriate.

To set up Comment Care Mode:

1. Go to the Settings and Privacy menu
2. Tap Privacy
3. Tap Comments
4. Tap Comment Care Mode
5. Toggle the setting on or off
6. Tap Save

How to set keyword filters

Maybe there are certain keywords you don’t want your child to access. It’s important to talk with your teen about the content they’re viewing, but having keyword filters can ensure they aren’t seeing anything you feel is inappropriate.

Keyword filters can either be set through Family Pairing, or you can manage them for each account individually. To manage keywords for each account, do the following:

1. Go to Settings and Privacy
2. Tap Content preferences
3. Tap Filter video keywords
4. Tap Add keyword
5. Enter a word or hashtag that you'd like to filter
6. Select the feed(s) that you'd like to filter keywords from
7. Tap Save

You can add up to 100 keywords, but some can’t be filtered. If a keyword isn’t saving, it’s likely because TikTok refuses to filter it.

How to keep your child safe on TikTok

TikTok is unsafe, but it doesn’t have to be that way. TikTok has the potential to bring joy to teens. Between self-care and cooking videos to BookTok (a popular hashtag), which lets you discover new reads or educational content, TikTok can broaden your child’s world. That doesn’t mean you want everything on TikTok available for your teen.

We recommend taking the following steps to increase your child’s safety:

• Enforce screen time limits — One of TikTok’s biggest downsides is how addictive it is. The never-ending scroll of content can quickly whittle away your free time. To help your child make smart time management decisions, you should set up screen time limits for the app.
• Monitor comments or direct messages — As with any social media site, TikTok’s security can be circumvented through what people share in comments or direct messages. On top of watching out for cyber bullies, make sure you’re telling your child not to follow any strange links that are sent to them.
• Review videos — TikTok thrives on the ability to share videos with other users, which can be personal friends or a much larger audience. Kids on the platform need to be aware of what they share in their own videos. Review what your child is posting and talk to them about keeping personal information hidden online.
• Talk about data privacy — Having a discussion with your child about the importance of staying safe online is one of the best ways to protect your child. Make sure you’re giving your child all the safety resources they need.

While TikTok has plenty of controls, it falls short in many places. Parental control apps can keep your child safe if they venture off TikTok. Additionally, you can view information from more than just TikTok and control other social media platforms.

The best parental control apps for TikTok

The best parental control apps allow you to scan for signs of self-harm, monitor activity on multiple devices and applications, and help you have conversations with your children about safe and responsible internet usage. Below are some of our favorites if you need more control of what your kid gets up to.

How a parental control app can help

Here are some parental control app features that you may find useful:

• Location tracking — Know where your child is at all times.
• Messaging monitor — Know who your child is talking to, and get an alert for any unsafe or mature content.
• Set time limits — Give your child some downtime away from their electronic devices.
• Device usage analytics — Get a clearer insight into how and when your child uses their device.
• Restrict apps — Manage or completely block your child from using certain apps.

What are the dangers of TikTok?

Like any social media site, TikTok has positives and negatives. Social media lends itself to poor behavior because people imagine they are protected through a screen. Cyberbullies, groomers, scammers, and anyone wanting to put out harmful content, all do it under the guise of anonymity.

Since the operators of many of these sites don’t seem to take the health and well-being of their users seriously, it’s important for parents to monitor content. Here are some things to watch out for when your teen uses TikTok and other social media:

Cyberbullying

We all know that kids are mean, but it’s not just your child’s classmates that may be bullying. Nowadays, all you have to do is make a comment online that someone doesn’t like, and they may begin a barrage of attacks against you. TikTok has some preventative measures, like limiting comments. Still, parental control apps can help you determine if the bullying goes beyond the app and bleeds over into texts and emails.

Grooming

Grooming is when an adult finds a child they are attracted to and then ensures that the child will begin a relationship with them after they turn 18. It’s a disturbing practice that you can help catch early if you monitor your child’s online interactions. Please report any grooming to local law enforcement and also disclose the groomer’s account to TikTok and other social media sites.

Inappropriate and harmful content

Content that is overly violent or sexual in nature, as well as content that encourages self-harm, are all examples of inappropriate and harmful content. Sometimes what’s considered inappropriate content is more about parental preference. Still, you should be able to mitigate what’s presented to your teen. Filters and alerts can help you make more informed decisions.

Hackers and identity theft

Social media is rife with hackers and identity thieves hoping to trick you or your kid into giving away information. Using a VPN for TikTok or even setting up a password manager will help mask your internet traffic from would-be hackers. Learning about phishing schemes and fake ads can keep you from disclosing too much information. Instilling your kids with a healthy dose of skepticism about someone’s intentions online can help keep them safe.

FAQs

Bottom line

TikTok offers families some control over the content viewed on its app, but it’s not the most comprehensive protection available. If you’ve put all the safeguards in place but are still uncomfortable with the platform, parental control apps can help fill those gaps.

Talking to your teen about TikTok, especially when learning to establish healthy online safety, is a must to ensure they know how to self-regulate later as adults. Opening a dialog is as important as monitoring their online content. Using both safety tools together can help establish boundaries and a healthy relationship with your child, as well as improve the TikTok experience.