Does your child have access to TikTok?

TikTok is a lively social network built around creating, sharing, and searching for user-created music videos. Users can upload videos of themselves singing, dancing, or performing some kind of stunt. Videos shared publicly can be viewed, commented, or remixed by other users.

Features include:

• Stickers, filters, and augmented reality (AR) animations can be added to videos.
• Uses can live-stream themselves and interact directly with online audiences via chat.
• An in-app store lets users purchase in-app currency that can be used to buy digital “gift” icons for their favourite live streamers.
• a Digital wellbeing setting allows parents to set two-hour screen time limits with the app (locked with a password).

Minimum age: 13 with parent consent, however experts recommend 15+

So that means, none of our students at Ngunnawal should have a TikTok account, but we know students do!

What are the risks?

• Videos and lyrics may contain swearing, sexually suggestive or even explicit material. There is no way of controlling what content appears next when your child is scrolling through TikTok.
• Setting accounts to Private does nothing to eliminate previously obtained followers.
• Users cannot delete accounts themselves and must request a delete code from the developers after submitting their phone number.
• Privacy and Safety settings are still imperfect; users still cannot delete accounts themselves, and if accounts aren’t made Private from the start, children could retain unwanted followers.

(source: Beacon Cyber Safety App)