TikTok will LIMIT screen time for users under-18 to 60 minutes a day

BREAKING NEWS: TikTok will LIMIT screen time for users under-18 to 60 minutes a day – and they will be prompted to enter a passcode to continue watching after the limit is reached

  • Parents and guardians will be allowed to set time limits for their children to limit their screen time
  • TikTok is also rolling out a sleep schedule reminder which will be accessed by all users
  • A screen time dashboard is also being introduced, which gives a breakdown of the total time spent on the app

Social media giant TikTok has announced that they will limit screen time for users under 18 to just 60 minutes a day.

Children will have the screen time limit set automatically and will have to enter a passcode in order to continue watching.

Parents and guardians will be able to use Family Pairing to customize their daily screen time limit for their children.

It will allow them to give different time limits depending on the day of the week, allowing families to take schedules and vacations into consideration.

TikTok did not confirm an exact date for the new features to be rolled out, but confirmed it would be ‘in the coming weeks.’ 

Parents and guardians will be able to use Family Pairing to customize their daily screen time limit for their children

They are also rolling out a sleep reminder to help schedule when users want to be offline at night, with a notification popping up to remind them it is time to log off

Among the new features, teenagers aged between 13 to 15 will automatically have their accounts set to private – meaning the users will have to choose what they want to share.

Direct messaging will only be available to those 16 and older, and you have to be at least 18 to host a live video. 

A screen time dashboard is also being introduced, which gives a breakdown of the total time spent on the app during the night and day.

New settings will also allow parents to mute notifications from the app for their teens, with users aged 13 to 15 not receiving any from 9pm and those aged 16 to 17 from 10pm.

Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok, said: ‘Today we’re announcing new features for teens, families, and our broader community.

‘We believe digital experiences should bring joy and play a positive role in how people express themselves, discover ideas, and connect.

‘We’re improving our screen time tool with more custom options, introducing new default settings for teen accounts, and expanding Family Pairing with more parental controls.’

TikTok did not confirm an exact date for the new features to be rolled out, but confirmed it would be ‘in the coming weeks’

New settings will also allow parents to mute notifications from the app for their teens, with users aged 13 to 15 not receiving any from 9pm and those aged 16 to 17 from 10pm

In a statement, they added that they would send each teen account a weekly inbox notification with a recap of their screen time

TikTok executives consulted the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital in choosing the limit.

They are also prompting teens to set their own daily screen time limit if they opt out of the 60-minute default and spend more than 100 minutes on the app each day.

In a statement, they added that they would send each teen account a weekly inbox notification with a recap of their screen time.

As well as rolling out the new features in the Family Pairing, the app will also be allowing everyone who uses the app to set their own customized time limits for each day.

They are also rolling out a sleep reminder to help schedule when users want to be offline at night, with a notification popping up to remind them it is time to log off.

Direct messaging will only be available to those 16 and older, and you have to be at least 18 to host a live video

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