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TikTok

Short video feed driven by an algorithm. The feed adapts fast, which is both the appeal and the risk.

SocialAbout 10 minutesSource confidence: highChecked 20 August 2026

Menu names shift between software versions and between phone makers. If a name here does not match what you see, look for something close by rather than assuming the setting is gone.

There is a version built for younger children

The Under 13 Experience, a separate version of TikTok. In the United States only, TikTok runs a separate under-13 version that collects less and adds extra protections. Everywhere else, including the UK, Ireland and Canada, TikTok's terms say the service is for 13 and over and there is no younger option.

Worth knowing: We could not read TikTok's children's privacy page to confirm what it does and does not let a child do, so treat the detail as unconfirmed and check it yourself.

The official page for the Under 13 Experience

What to watch for

Before you start

Check these before you undo anything

Most of a bad setup can be fixed in place, so do not start by deleting accounts. These are the parts that cannot be taken back.

  1. 1

    Set up Family Pairing

    Family Pairing lets you change your teen’s safety settings from your own phone, and stops them changing them back.

    Profile → ☰ (top right) → Settings and privacy → Family Pairing

    1. On your phone: open your profile, tap the three lines top right, then Settings and privacy.
    2. Scroll to Family Pairing and tap Continue.
    3. Choose Parent. You’ll get a QR code.
    4. On your teen’s phone: go to the same Family Pairing screen, choose Teen, and scan your QR code.
    5. Your teen reviews the permissions and taps Link accounts.

    Everything below is now set from your phone.

    Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

    Already done this?

    If the account was opened with a false adult birthday, Family Pairing will not fix it, because the age on the account is what drives every default. There is no self-serve correction. The appeal only opens once TikTok has restricted the account, and confirmation is by ID selfie, a parent's credit card with a small refunded charge, or a photo with an adult over 25. Download the data first.

  2. 2

    Make the account private

    A public account means anyone can see their videos, comment, and work out where they go to school from the background. Going private does cost them views, which for a lot of teenagers is the entire point of the app, so this one lands better agreed than announced.

    Family Pairing → [your teen] → Privacy and safety

    1. Turn Private account on.
    2. Turn off Suggest your teen’s account to others.
    Recommended by age
    13–15Private, on
    16–17Private, worth agreeing together

    Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

  3. 3

    Limit messages, comments and mentions

    This is where strangers actually reach teenagers. Content filters don’t help with contact.

    Family Pairing → [your teen] → Privacy and safety → Safety

    1. Set who can send direct messages.
    2. Set who can comment on their videos.
    3. Set who can mention or tag them.
    Recommended by age
    13–15Friends, or No one for DMsOnly people already on their friends list can reach them. Strangers cannot.
    16–17FriendsOnly people already on their friends list can reach them. Strangers cannot.

    Direct messaging is switched off entirely for accounts registered as under 16.

    Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

    If someone is being cruel to them

    Comments are where most of it happens, not messages, so the comment setting is the one that matters here. A second account gets around it, which is worth knowing before you lean on it.

  4. 4

    Turn on Restricted Mode and keyword filters

    Restricted Mode filters out content that isn’t appropriate for younger viewers. Keyword filters let you name the specific things you’re worried about.

    Family Pairing → Content preferences

    1. Turn Restricted Mode on.
    2. Open Filter video keywords and add words relevant to your family. Diet and body-image terms are a common starting point.

    Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

  5. 5

    Set daily screen time and a Time away schedule

    TikTok’s feed has no end. The sleep effect is the most reliably harmful part for most teenagers.

    Family Pairing → [your teen] → Screen time

    1. Set a Daily screen time limit (the minimum TikTok allows is 40 minutes).
    2. Add a Time away schedule covering school hours and bedtime.
    Recommended by age
    13–1560 minutes, phone out of the bedroom overnight
    16–17Agree a limit together, keep the overnight block

    Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

  6. 6

    Show them how to reset the feed

    If the algorithm goes somewhere dark, they can fix it themselves. Teaching this beats monitoring it.

    1. Show them the 'not interested' option on a long-press of any video.
    2. Show them Settings and privacy → Content preferences → Refresh your For You feed.
    3. Agree that if the feed gets strange, they tell you and you fix it together, with no blame.

Safety check

Worth talking about

Official sources

Has something already happened?If your child has been contacted by an adult, is being threatened over an image, or is being bullied, settings are not the first thing to deal with. Here is what to do, and who to tell.

Menus move. If something on screen does not match these steps, check the official link above.