TikTok adds privacy updates for teens, including limits on notifications

TikTok is rolling out updates aimed at its teen users, including options such as choosing who can view videos and limits on when younger users get notifications.

In a blog post Thursday, TikTok detailed several features the social platform aimed at users ages 13 to 17.

They include default settings for direct messages, so no one can send private messages unless sharing options are updated.

The updates feature prompts that pop up when younger users are about to share a video, asking whom they want to allow to view it as well as whether they want other people to download their post.

TikTok is setting limits on when teen users get notifications, as well. Accounts from users ages 13-15 will not see push notifications after 9 p.m., and users ages 16-17 won't see notifications after 10 p.m.

"These changes continue to build on our ongoing commitments as there's no finish line when it comes to protecting the safety, privacy, and well-being of our community," Alexandra Evans, TikTok's head of child safety public policy, and Aruna Sharma, global head of privacy, said in a joint statement.

TikTok, which gained popularity among younger smartphone owners, has surged in popularity. Research firm App Annie found TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2020 both in the U.S. and worldwide.

Last month, Instagram rolled out updates to provide more privacy to teens, including defaulting accounts for those 16 and under to private and making it tougher for potentially suspicious accounts to find teen users.