TikTok is rolling out new features designed to give parents greater control over their teens’ digital habits while fostering balanced online engagement for young users. As part of its ongoing commitment to online safety, the platform is enhancing its Family Pairing controls, introducing a new wind-down feature for nighttime use, and partnering with Media Smart to educate families about online well-being.
Strengthening Supervision with Family Pairing Enhancements
Since launching Family Pairing five years ago, TikTok has consistently refined its parental control options based on user feedback and expert guidance. The latest updates offer parents greater oversight and flexibility in managing their teens’ digital experience.
Among the newly introduced tools is the Time Away feature, allowing parents to schedule breaks from the app at specific times. Whether during school hours, family meals, or bedtime, caregivers can customise recurring schedules that fit their household routines. If plans change, teens can request additional screen time, but the final decision remains with parents.
Additionally, a new feature provides parents with visibility into their teen’s network, allowing them to see who their child follows, who follows them, and even accounts their teen has blocked. This increased transparency enables more informed discussions around digital safety and online relationships.
Another upcoming feature will notify parents when their teen reports a video for violating TikTok’s guidelines, giving caregivers a clearer understanding of the content their children engage with.
With these updates, parents can now manage over 15 safety, privacy, and well-being settings. These include the ability to:
- Re-enable the STEM feed, if a teen has previously turned it off. The dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math feed, now available in over 100 countries, continues to engage millions of young users.
- Set daily screen time limits, with flexible options such as restricting usage on weekdays while allowing more time on weekends.
- Switch accounts back to private, ensuring teens remain in a safer, default privacy setting if they had previously changed it to public.
Encouraging Healthier Digital Habits with Wind Down Features
In a bid to help teens establish healthier bedtime routines, TikTok is introducing a wind-down feature for users under 16. If a teen is on TikTok after 10 PM, their feed will be interrupted with a calming, full-screen reminder accompanied by relaxing music. If they continue using the app, a second, harder-to-dismiss prompt will reinforce the need to take a break.
The platform has already seen promising results from early trials of this feature, with the majority of teens opting to keep the reminders enabled. Building on this, TikTok will soon integrate meditation exercises into the wind-down prompts, reflecting research that suggests mindfulness practices can improve sleep quality.
These updates align with behaviour change principles, offering positive nudges to help young users cultivate healthier digital habits in the long term. Additionally, TikTok continues to prevent push notifications from being sent to teens at night, ensuring they are not drawn back to the app after hours.
Empowering Families with Digital Safety Education
Recognising that not all parents are familiar with social media, TikTok has partnered with Media Smart, the UK advertising and media industry’s education initiative, to launch the Teens, Social Media & You campaign. The campaign features a series of creator-led videos and educational resources aimed at parents, caregivers, and teachers, particularly those with lower digital literacy or whose children are new to social media.
Available in the UK, Germany, Sweden, and France, the campaign is designed to bridge the knowledge gap between parents and teens, equipping families with the tools they need to navigate online safety conversations effectively. Media Smart has also made a downloadable guide available on its website, answering frequently asked questions on screen time management and mental well-being.
Addressing Age Assurance and Online Safety
TikTok remains committed to keeping younger users safe on its platform through stringent age assurance measures. Using technologies such as machine learning, TikTok actively works to detect and prevent under-13s from accessing the app. The company is also exploring partnerships, such as its collaboration with Telefónica, to evaluate how phone provider information could support age verification efforts.
Additionally, TikTok is a key supporter of the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Age Assurance, an initiative bringing together platforms, regulators, policymakers, and child protection organisations to establish industry-wide best practices.
Looking Ahead: A Commitment to Digital Well-Being
TikTok’s latest initiatives reflect its ongoing dedication to fostering a safe and balanced online environment for young users. Through expanded parental controls, bedtime-friendly features, and industry collaborations, the platform continues to prioritise the well-being of teens while empowering families with the knowledge and tools to support healthy digital habits.
Carolyn Bunting, Co-CEO of Internet Matters, praised TikTok’s latest updates, stating:
“Parents play a crucial role in helping their children navigate the digital world safely. We welcome these enhancements to Family Pairing and the introduction of the Wind Down reminder, which together will support teens in developing healthy screen time habits.”
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, TikTok remains committed to refining its safety measures and listening to feedback from both parents and teens to create a more secure and enjoyable online space for young users.
