Is TikTok Safe to Use? A Parent’s and User’s Guide to TikTok

May. 14, 2020

First of all, we will discuss TikTok’s content and what the company is doing to tackle the issues at hand. We have also provided someTikTok tips and tricksalong the way so you can use the app safely and securely. After that, we will move to TikTok challenges and then explain Data Security and Privacy issues comprehensively. With all that said, let’s now begin and learn if TikTok is safe to use.

1. Content

Before anything, we need to look into the kind of content that is published on TikTok to better understand if the platform is safe for you. I will discuss the issues pertaining to TikTok content first, and then move to what TikTok is doing to tackle these issues. The general consensus is that TikTok generates some of the most creative, inventive, and fun videos on the internet. Be it a lip-synced clip or a simple cooking hack demonstrated in 15 seconds, the videos make their way to all othersocial media platforms. Having said that, we can’t look away from the elephant in the room. Objectionable content has been published on TikTok in the past, and some users have reported thatit continues to happen even today behind the veneer of modified hashtags. Users publish mature content with a slightly modified hashtag to easily bypass the keyword filter on TikTok.

Keep in mind, TikTok is pretty popular among teens and a recent survey suggests that users below 16 are the most active users on this platform. So sometimes these video clips surface on underage users’ feed despite the strict moderation employed by TikTok. If you take a brief look at the Parents’ review of TikTok onCommon Sense Media, you would get a faint idea that there is much more on TikTok than just funny sketches with special effects. There have been instances where predators have targeted underage girls on TikTok with messages having sexual overtones. To prevent this,TikTok recently banned private messaging for users below 16. However, the problem is much bigger than that. By default, TikTok accounts are set to Public which means anyone can follow and message you, the moment you create an account. And it remains so until you enable Private mode under the settings page manually.

Having said that, the whole idea of TikTok is to become famous and garner thousands of likes and followers. It’s the exact antithesis of leading a private life so you can’t complain much if you have chosen to create content on TikTok. But you do have the option toenable Private mode, in case you want to limit your interactionwith only approved followers. Even when your account is set to Public, you can restrict interactions like messages, Duet, Mirrors to just your friends.

Apart from that, TikTok introduced Restricted Mode last year which filters out inappropriate content that has suggestive dancing and revealing clothes. Along the same lines,TikTok now blocks search terms related to pornography.Among other things, if you are below 18 then you can’t purchase, send or receive virtual items on TikTok. Lastly, you can’t receive or send messages and host a live stream if you are below 16 so that is a good change on TikTok’s part.

While TikTok has definitely amped up its online safety measures,all these privacy safeguards hinge on parent’s active involvement, especially if your minor is on TikTok. There have been cases where underage users have changed the birth date to unlock private messaging, access unrestricted content, and more. So if your child is on TikTok, you should link your TikTok account to control the various privacy settings and limit your child interaction with strangers on the web.

TikTok is popular for its unique challenges that are mostly organic and fun. Most often, brands, artists, musicians, marketing companies start a challenge on TikTok to publicize their product or simply to make a point. However, there is another dimension to TikTok’s challenges which are promoted by individuals. These are mostlydeath-defying stunts and self-harm acts meant to garner more likes and followers. Following the trend, TikTokers are tempted to take up the challenge to outsmart everyone else. Theskull-breaker challengebeing the recent one on TikTok which lead to serious injuries and death. So if you are a parent then I would suggest you to counsel your children not to give heed to such dangerous challenges on TikTok.

In the Content section, we dealt with privacy and learned about the various safeguards offered by TikTok to restrict unsolicited interaction from strangers. So here, I will dive a bit on the technical side and go through some of the controversies around TikTok’s data-sharing practices. In November last year,The New York Timesreportedthat TikTok was under the National Security review in the US. The company was accused of sharing data with China, but so far nothing concrete has come out. TikTok has reassured thatall user data — be it from the US, India, or Europe — are kept in data centers located in the US and Singapore. Nevertheless, the US went ahead and barred the US Military from using TikTok due to security reasons. And now, we are hearing that the US might bring a law to ban federal workers from using TikTok.

Further, a researcher namedMatthias Eberl from Germanydemonstrated that TikTok sends a bulk of data to Facebook and Appsflyer (a marketing company with more than 4500 partners). The data include device information, usage time, and the list of watched videos on TikTok. In addition, the researcher claims that eventhe search terms from TikTok are forwarded to Facebookwhich is a damning invasion of privacy. I would say if you are concerned about your TikTok activity data being sent to Facebook and 4500 different partners then don’t use TikTok at all.

As far as content on TikTok is concerned, there is definitely a pressing issue, especially for minors and we have underlined it in the first section. However, TikTok has also introduced a slew of measures to combat nudity, bullying, and safeguards to protect underage users from strangers. Butthe system is not full-proof as users can change the birth date and create a new account having all the adult privileges.

In that case, parents have to play an important role and monitor the privacy controls of their child through Familly Pairing. TikTok has now all the tools for parents to take advantage of. You can learn how toset parental controls for TikTok on Android and iOS devicesby clicking on the link. To conclude, TikTok is definitely safe to use, but parents must be part of it.

Anyway, that is all from us. If you are not satisfied with TikTok’s content moderation or you are concerned about your privacy then you can choose topermanently delete your TikTok accountin six easy steps. And if you want aTikTok alternativethen go through our linked article to find the best apps like TikTok.

Passionate about Windows, ChromeOS, Android, security and privacy issues. Have a penchant to solve everyday computing problems.