TikTok wants to limit daily usage time for teenagers

TikTok wants to help users "organise their time on TikTok", according to the company's announcement. This is why the app's default settings will be adjusted in the coming weeks - details are still unknown. It was already possible to activate a notification in the TikTok app when the screen time per day reached 60 minutes. However, this function is deactivated by default. It will now be activated for all users under the age of 18. Anyone who wants to swipe through the stream of short videos for more than an hour will be asked to set up a numerical code. Once this is done, the TikTok fun can continue. TikTok knows the age of the user by the information provided when creating the profile.

After 100 minutes, the virtual index finger is raised again. TikTok then shows the person in front of the smartphone screen a request to set a time limit per day. How this is supposed to work when the default setting is already set to 60 minutes for every user under the age of 18 remains to be seen in practice.

In addition to the time limit, TikTok has announced further restrictions that apply to users under the age of 18:

• TikTok accounts for 13- to 15-year-olds are set to "private" by default.
• Direct messages are only available to users aged 16 and over
• Live hosting may only be started from the age of 18

More power for parents

The settings for "supervised mode" have been expanded. Parents can connect to their children's TikTok app here. Until now, parents and guardians have only been able to influence a few settings, such as how long TikTok can be used or whether your child's account is public or private. This is now changing. Further functions are now being added:

• You can define for each day of the week how long and during which periods TikTok can be used by your child - for example, less during school days and more at weekends.
• The usage time is recorded and displayed in a dashboard.
• As a parent, you can set notifications that your child receives in TikTok during periods that you define.

TikTok needs to work on its image

The announced measures can be seen as TikTok's response to ongoing criticism. Critics have warned that TikTok's algorithm makes the app an "addiction machine". Users would be tempted to consume more and more by the seemingly endless stream of short videos tailored to their interests and reactions. However, this is precisely part of the business model of TikTok and other social media apps: they optimise the content displayed so that users spend as much time as possible in the app. And during this time, they should see as much advertising as possible, which generates money for the operators.

The new default settings are unlikely to jeopardise TikTok's success. Although the company refers in its announcement to scientific studies that legitimise the limit of 60 or 100 minutes, it is still high and can easily be overridden or circumvented. After all, you can quickly bring forward an 18th birthday virtually.

TikTok is currently trying to improve its image on many fronts. Users of the app are repeatedly criticised for not being adequately protected from hidden advertising. In recent months and weeks, several Western governments and parliaments have also banned TikTok on smartphones used for business purposes or warned against using the app. There are fears that data could be passed on to the Chinese government.

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