Johannesburg – Tiktok deploys extended parental control and happiness tools designed to support families in fostering healthy digital habits for teens.
These updates are part of Tiktok's commitment to online safety, enhancing family pairing by providing greater surveillance to parents, while encouraging responsible mindful screen time among younger users.
The latest updates include:
Time-Away Scheduling – Parents can set custom screen-free periods (school hours, bedtime, weekends). Teens can ask for extra time, but parents have final approval. Teen Network Visibility – Parents can see who their teens follow, who follow, and blocked accounts, which can encourage open discussions about online interactions. Aggressive Report Alerts – Soon, if a teenager reports content that could violate Tiktok's community guidelines, they have the option to notify trustworthy adults even if family pairing is not enabled.
With these updates, Family Pailing can tailor your teenage experience with Tiktok, offering over 15 customizable safety, privacy and benefits features.
Encourage healthier digital habits for teens
To help teens develop more mindful screen time habits, Tiktok is introducing wind blowing features for users under the age of 16.
If you stay active on Tiktok after 10pm, For You Feed will be interrupted with full-screen reminders and calm music, prompting you to log off.
Continue scrolling and you'll see a second, more permanent prompt.
In early testing, most teens choose to keep these reminders enabled, enhancing the effectiveness of their features in shaping positive digital behavior.
Over the next few weeks, Tiktok will test in-functional meditation exercises as research shows that mindful meditation can improve sleep quality.
“In Tiktok, safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said Adam Presser, Chiktok's director of operations and trust and safety.
“These new updates are part of our continued commitment to strengthening families with the tools they need to develop healthy digital habits.
“By strengthening family pairing, strengthening industry partnerships and introducing innovative happiness features, we enable younger users to explore, create and connect in a safe, positive online environment.”
Give the power of STEM to young learners
Tiktok's commitment to educational content continues to grow.
Since launching our dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) feed, millions of teenagers around the world have been involved in STEM-focused content, promoting curiosity and learning in a fun and accessible way.
The STEM feed is currently available in over 100 countries and provides inspiration, innovation and professionally driven learning resources for younger users.
Industry partnerships to promote online safety standards
Tiktok is actively working with global leaders to enhance age guarantees and digital security across the industry.
The platform utilizes machine learning to perform age verification to ensure that younger users have age-appropriate experience while removing accounts that do not meet the platform's requirements.
In its partnership with Telefónica, Tiktok is seeking mobile service provider-based age verification, enhancing authentication and security measures.
Additionally, Tiktok is a key participant in the multi-stakeholder dialogue on age guarantees and will work with the Center for Information Policy Leadership and the WEROTECT GLOBAL Alliance to establish best practices for age verification across digital platforms.
As part of its commitment to place young voices at the heart of improving the platform, Tiktok expanded its Global Youth Council in 2025.
Following its first successful year, the council was originally launched in 2023 – was designed to amplify the perspective of teenagers and improve their experience with the platform.
This year, the council has almost doubled and features 28 members from 15 countries, including new representatives from Nigeria, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar and Australia.
Members from Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the UK and the US will continue to participate in the second term.
The Youth Council plays an important role in shaping Tiktok's safety, happiness and inclusiveness policies, ensuring that the platform continues to evolve with the needs and experiences of young users around the world.
With these latest updates, Tiktok is strengthening its digital safety and well-being commitment by introducing enhanced supervision tools, promoting healthier online habits for teens and enhancing collaboration with safety experts.
These efforts reflect the platform's ongoing work to create a safer, more supportive digital environment for families.
