TikTok enforces a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes for those under 18. If young people exceed the new limit, they will need to submit a passcode to continue using the service that day.
But users will be able to opt out of the new move, which TikTok says will be implemented “in the coming weeks.” The video app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, announced the addition of the option to help users “maintain control” over their usage.
TikTok announced the new limit last year after introducing a reminder to encourage teenagers to manage their screen use. According to the report, this increased the use of our screen time tools by 234%. Users of the platform must be at least 13 years old, and anyone under the age of 18 will receive a weekly reminder to “recover their screen usage” as part of the new feature.
No “appropriate” screen time
After the adjustment takes effect, affected users will receive their new TimeLate passcode on the app screen. TikTok will ask users who opt out of the new 60-minute limit but continue to use the app for 100 minutes per day to set their screen time limit.
Parents of children using the app’s Family Pairing feature will be able to set screen time limits and see a dashboard that provides an analysis of app usage. Cormac Cannon, TikTok’s head of trust and safety, said the company collaborated with researchers to establish the new restrictions.
Opponents of the video app praised the screen time limit, but called it the “tip of the iceberg” in terms of TikTok’s response to young users being exposed to the platform.
New Feature of TikTok
Family pairing will also allow access to TikTok’s Screen Time dashboard, which highlights how much time a child has spent on the app, the frequency of opening it, and the breakdown of time spent during the day and night. In the near future, a new “Mute Notifications” feature will allow parents to schedule app notifications to be muted on their children’s accounts. Push notifications for users aged 13 to 15 are automatically silenced at 9pm, while push notifications for users aged 16 to 17 are disabled at 10pm.
Finally, TikTok has announced that it is implementing additional content restrictions that will enable parents to filter out videos containing phrases or hashtags that they don’t want their kids to see. In the coming weeks, the corporation will collaborate with “parents, youth, and civil society organizations” to build the feature.
Outside of the family duo, TikTok announced that some of these enhancements will be made generally available, allowing any user to mute notifications and set daily screen time limits. A sleep reminder is now accessible, allowing users to choose a time at which they will be reminded to exit the application and go to bed.