User safety

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What is Restricted Mode?  •  How to turn Restricted Mode on or off  •  What is Comment Care Mode?  •  How to manage Comment Care Mode  •  What is filter video keywords?  •  What is Family Pairing?  •  How to set up Family Pairing  •  How to manage Family Pairing controls  •  Safety resources 




At TikTok, we care about your safety while using the app. That’s why we provide a number of safety tools and resources that allow you to control privacy preferences and access content that's most relevant or appropriate for you or your family.  



What is Restricted Mode?


Restricted Mode on TikTok limits exposure to content that may not be suitable for everyone, for example, because it contains mature or complex themes. Some features will be unavailable under Restricted Mode, such as the Following feed and gifting on LIVE. Parents and guardians can also turn on Restricted Mode for their teens through Family Pairing.






How to turn Restricted Mode on or off


To turn Restricted Mode on or off:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy.
4. Tap Content preferences, then tap Restricted Mode.
5. Follow the steps in the app to set or enter a passcode to turn Restricted Mode on or off.


Note:
•  This feature is only available on the TikTok app. When browsing on the web or mobile, Restricted Mode is on by default.
•  If you have multiple accounts, you must turn on Restricted Mode on each account separately.
•  If you're a parent or guardian, you may also turn on Restricted Mode for your teen's account through Family Pairing.

Learn more about Restricted Mode.






What is Comment Care Mode?


Comment Care Mode gives you more control over your experience by applying stronger filters to the comment areas of your new videos. Comment Care Mode filters comments that are inappropriate, offensive, and have been flagged by yourself or others.






How to manage Comment Care Mode


To turn on Comment Care Mode:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button.
3. Tap Settings and privacy, then tap Privacy.
4. Tap Comments, then tap Comment Care Mode.
5. Turn on Comment Care Mode, then tap Save.

Learn more about Comment Care Mode.






What is filter video keywords?


Filter video keywords on TikTok allows you to tailor the content in your For You and Following feeds.

Note: Certain keywords can't be filtered.

To add video keyword filters:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy.
4. Tap Content Preferences, then tap Filter video keywords.
5. Tap Add keywords and enter a word or hashtag you'd like to filter. You can add up to 100 keywords.
6. Select the feeds you'd like to filter from.
7. Tap Save to confirm.


To filter hashtags directly from a video in the For You or Following feed:
1. In the TikTok app, press and hold on the video, or tap the Share button on the side, and tap Not interested.
2. Tap Details to display a list of hashtags found on the video.
3. Select the hashtags you'd like to filter.
4. Tap Submit to confirm.

Note: This option is not available on ads.

To delete or edit filtered keywords:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy.
4. Tap Content Preferences, then tap Filter video keywords.
5. Tap the Delete button next to any keywords you'd like to remove.
6. Tap Delete to confirm.

Note: If you're a parent or guardian, you can add keyword filters for your teen through Family Pairing.






What is Family Pairing?


Family Pairing on TikTok allows parents and teens to customize their safety settings based on individual needs. A parent can link their TikTok account to their teen's and set parental controls including:

Daily screen time
•  Decide how long your teen can spend on TikTok each day. For teens between the ages 13 to 17, this setting is turned on by default to 1 hour.
•  Set your teen's screen time limit directly from your own account.
•  Set one screen time limit to apply to all your teen's devices.
•  Set a passcode that you can choose to enter after your teen reaches their time to allow them to return to TikTok.

Screen time dashboard
•  Get a summary of your teen's time spent on TikTok including:
  ༚  The cumulative time spent each day for the last 4 weeks
  ༚  The number of times your teen opened the app each day for the last 4 weeks

Learn more about screen time on TikTok.

Mute push notifications
•  Decide when to mute your teen's push notifications. This setting is turned on by default:
  ༚  For teens between the ages of 13 to 15 years, the scheduled time is set to 9:00 PM to 8:00 AM by default
  ༚  For teens between the ages of 16 to 17 years, the scheduled time is set to 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM by default
•  Schedule additional time directly from your own account. Keep in mind, the default scheduled time overrides any custom time that falls within the default time.

Learn more about how to mute push notifications on TikTok.

Filter video keywords
•  Select keywords or hashtags to exclude from your teen's For You and Following feeds, as well as manage the visibility of your keywords list.

STEM feed
•  Decide whether your teen can view the STEM feed.

Note: This is only available to users 13 years and older in the U.S.

Restricted Mode
•  Restrict your teen's exposure to content that may not be appropriate or suitable for them.

Linked account activity
•  Get notifications about your teen's activity, such as if your accounts get unlinked, by turning on Customized updates and more push notifications.

Search
•  Decide whether your teen can search for videos, hashtags, or LIVE videos on TikTok.

Discoverability
•  Decide whether your teen's account is private or public. With a private account, your teen can approve who can follow them and view their content.

Suggest account to others
•  Decide whether your teen's account can be recommended to others. Learn more about suggested accounts on TikTok.

Direct Messages
•  Restrict who can send messages to your teen, or turn off direct messaging completely.
Keep in mind:
•  Direct messaging on TikTok is available only to registered account holders aged 16 and older.
•  Direct messaging is automatically turned off for registered accounts between the ages of 13 and 15.
Learn more about direct messages on TikTok.

Liked videos
•  Decide who can view your teen's liked videos.

Comments
•  Decide who can comment on your teen's videos.

Note: TikTok's Family Pairing parental controls are available only on the TikTok mobile app and not on mobile and desktop browsers. If your teen accesses TikTok from a browser as well as the mobile app, you may want to use the parental controls available on the mobile and desktop browser, in addition to TikTok's mobile app parental controls.

To set up screen time limits and restrict your teen's TikTok usage on browsers, visit:
•  Google's family center for Android and Chrome.
•  Apple's parental controls for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Safari.






How to set up Family Pairing


To link parent and teen accounts:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy, then tap Family Pairing.
4. Tap Parent or Teen.
5. Follow the steps in the app to link accounts.






How to manage Family Pairing controls


To manage or view Family Pairing controls:
1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy, then tap Family Pairing.
4. Select the account you want to manage.
5. Update the controls, as needed.






Safety resources


At TikTok, we want to ensure you have the safety resources you need to safeguard your online experience. The following resources are available if you or someone you know needs support.

Safety Center
Visit our Safety Center to learn more about safety resources and tools on TikTok. You can also find information on your account status and records of any reports you've submitted, and share feedback in the app version of Safety Center.

To visit our Safety Center in the TikTok app:
1. Tap Profile at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy, then tap Support.
4. Tap Safety Center.

Global resources
•  Family Online Safety Institute
•  Internet Watch Foundation
•  WePROTECT Global Alliance
•  National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Local resources
For a list of local organizations,  visit our Safety Center and select your country or region.

Additional resources
You can find additional resources in our Safety Center for the following issues:
•  Preventing child sexual abuse on TikTok
•  Sexual Assault Resources
•  Eating disorders
•  Bullying prevention
•  COVID-19
•  Suicide and self-harm
•  Digital well-being
•  Parent and caregivers guide


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