TikTok launches new feature to give power to parents over kids’ accounts

Monitoring Desk

ISLAMABAD: Social media app TikTok has launched a new feature, Family Pairing, to give more authorities to the parents to control their children accounts.

While increasing parental controls, TikTok app allows parents to remotely set restrictions on their kids’ accounts through Family Pairing. The feature permits parents to link their own accounts with their children’s accounts.

The new feature will authorize parents to disable direct messages, turn on restricted content mode besides setting screen time limits without accessing the kids’ phone.

The company introduced the latest feature after paying $5.7 million to the Federal Trade Commission over alleged violations of a children’s privacy law, in part for allowing users under 13 years old to sign up without parental consent, said a report published by The Verge.

Earlier in the year, TikTok rolled out the same features in Europe under the name of ‘Family Safety Mode’.

According to the report, parents will still have to get their kids to agree to have their accounts linked under the new system.

To set it up, parents need to scan a QR code inside the digital wellbeing section of their kid’s account.

Kids will be able to disable the feature at any time, though there are some roadblocks: parents will receive a notification, and they’ll have a chance to re-link the account in case it was disconnected by accident.

Along with the new features, TikTok is also making another change today: it’s disabling direct messages for all users under 16. BuzzFeed News reported last year that the app had issues with predators messaging younger users.