TikTok tightens the privacy policy of childrens’ account

Update in privacy policy revealed that videos uploaded by kids under 16, TikTok users will not be able to “duet or stitch”,or will not be able to download and follow them. The short video app which is overwhelmingly common among teens, refused to disclose the number of impacted users, but may impact half of their user base.

TikTok said it hopes the reforms would enable young people to “actively participate in their journey of online privacy.”

“We hope to encourage them to actively participate and make rational decisions,” said Elaine Fox, head of privacy. Those between the ages of 13 and 15 will be able to accept comments from “friends” and select whether to make videos public.

“These ground breaking changes are build on previous improvements we have made to encourage minor protection, including limiting direct messages and hosting live streams to accounts 16 and over and allowing parents and guardians via our Family Pairing feature to set guardrails for their teen’s TikTok account” she said.

As we know that this app becomes increasingly popular, mostly among young smartphone users. However, TikTok has come under pressure to strengthen its privacy settings and processes around young people. A spokesman for TikTok refused to say how much the move will effect, but relative to other platforms, TikTok has an overwhelming proportion of younger users.