TikTok to introduce screentime limits for under 18s

A major change to how people use TikTok is to be rolled out in the coming weeks and it could affected how millions use the social media site.

A big change is coming to social media platform TikTok – and it might not be welcomed by teenagers.

In the coming weeks, all users under 18 will have the settings on their account automatically altered so they can initially only use the website for one hour a day.

The company said it was providing “extra support” to help teens, “explore the online world independently”.

However, the 60minute scrolling limit won’t be binding.

After one hour, users will be able to choose to scroll for longer. And they can turn the limit off altogether.

Younger users will have initial time use limits added to their accounts. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP)

But the firm said it would mean teenagers would have to actively consider if they were spending too long online.

“While there’s no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is ‘too much’, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we recognise that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently,” TikTok’s head of trust and safety Cormac Keenan wrote in a blog post on the company’s website.

“Research shows that being more aware of how we spend our time can help us be more intentional about the decisions we make.”

If a young user is still on TikTok after 100 minutes they will be prompted to set a daily screen time limit for themselves.

Users will be able to extend their time online, however.

If the TikTok account has a level of family supervision, one of the website’s features, then a parent could set a time limit which only they can extend.

The app will also have a screen time dashboard which will break down how long the user has been active over a number of days.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media sites rivalling Facebook and Instagram especially with younger people.

But Western governments are becoming warier of the Chinese owned firm.

This week Canada joined the US and European Union in barring the app from government issued mobile phones.

“I suspect that as government takes the significant step of telling all federal employees that they can no longer use TikTok on their work phones, many Canadians from business to private individuals will reflect on the security of their own data and perhaps make choices,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

“I’m always a fan of giving Canadians the information for them to make the right decisions for them.”

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has banned TikTok on government issued devices in Canada. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP)

TikTok’s owner is Byte Dance. It’s headquartered in Singapore but is ultimately a Chinese company.

It has insisted the app has no nefarious or surveillance uses but some governments remain suspicious of its potential uses by Beijing.