TikTok boosts parental controls with update to Family Pairing feature

17 November 2020, 13:04

TikTok logo
TikTok planning London headquarters. Picture: PA

Parents and guardians are now able to set their children’s accounts to private and disable comments as part of the update.

The parents of teenage TikTok users can now set their children’s accounts to private and disable comments as part of a security update to the platform.

The new features are being applied through the app’s Family Pairing feature, which enables parents or guardians to link their child’s account to their own.

Family Pairing was first introduced earlier this year as a way of helping parents better control what their children see on the video platform, and this latest update gives them the ability to turn off comments or videos or set to friends only, as well as turn off the search function and limit who can see the videos their child has liked.

The feature already allows parents to manage screen time on TikTok each day and to restrict the content that appears on the For You page of the app.

Alexandra Evans, TikTok’s head of child safety public policy in Europe, said Family Pairing was meant to provide teenagers with a “guardrail” as they used the app.

“The updates we are making today are the latest in a series of steps we have taken to give families the tools they need to create the TikTok experience that’s right for them,” she said.

“We know that when people feel safe, they feel free to express their creativity – that’s why safety is at the heart of everything we do.”

The move was praised by online safety experts, with Carolyn Bunting, chief executive of Internet Matters, saying such tools were important to keep parents aware and in control of their children’s safety online.

“It’s clear that social media companies need to do more to ensure their platforms are safe spaces for young people, so we welcome the new safety features that TikTok is adding to its Family Pairing feature,” she said.

“Ultimately, it’s often parents who have to balance their children’s safety with their enjoyment, and we know from our work at Internet Matters that children with parents who are engaged with what they’re doing online are safer online.

“Parental controls can be a great help to families, but priority must still be around finding time to have regular conversations with children about the spaces they enjoy online so we can deal with any issues that may arise.”

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

A laptop user with their hood up

Ministers to crack down on deepfakes and sharing of illicit intimate images

Elvie Rise smart baby bouncer

British tech firm Elvie unveils smart baby bouncer

The phone maker first introduced its suite of generative AI tools a year ago (David Parry/PA)

More than four million people in the UK using Samsung Galaxy AI tools, firm says

Critics of AI have raised concerns about the technology's potential impact on the job market (Michael Dwyer/AP)

OpenAI is ready to focus on ‘superintelligence’, boss Sam Altman says

CES 2025 signage

CES ‘doesn’t have the same support’ from the UK as other nations, show boss says

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told MPs he believes in 'different courses for different horses' (PA)

Use of NHS app will ‘free up phone line’ for elderly lacking tech skills

CES 2025 Preview

CES 2025: AI-powered beauty mirrors and robot pets among gadgets on display

The firm said it would begin a pilot of the new system with a L'Oreal brand in stores in Asia later in 2025. (L'Oreal)

New L’Oreal skin analysis tool can help predict aging and cosmetic issues

Samsung's Vision AI smart assistant, which are built into Samsung's TVs to act as a virtual assistant

Samsung unveils plans to turn TVs into AI assistants

Signage and staging at the CES show in Las Vegas

AI, car tech and ‘weird’ gadgets expected to dominate at CES trade show

Sir Nick Clegg

Clegg leaves Meta role as Republican promoted ahead of Trump presidency

A Polestar 4 electric car

Does the Polestar 4 offer a glimpse of the cars of the future?

The Duchess of Sussex

Meghan returns to Instagram with beach video

The app intervenes when smoking is detected (University of Bristol/PA)

Smartwatch technology could help people quit smoking, study finds

Elon Musk

Downing Street rejects Musk’s suggestion companies are turning away from UK

A person using their phone at a pedestrian crossing

Predicting the future in 1999: Tech predictions 25 years on