Many young South Africans took to TikTok to commemorate Youth Day.
While doing so, it’s important that they remember to take the necessary safety precautions to ensure a positive online experience.
TikTok is encouraging its own community to brush up on their in-app safety knowledge as well as update their settings where necessary.
Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, TikTok’s Head of Public Policy in Africa, said, “TikTok is all about having fun and sharing lighthearted moments with friends or others around the world.
“To foster a space where creativity can thrive, the platform has been designed to safeguard the wellbeing of everyone in its community through various in-app safety features.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our current safety features and are continuously introducing new ones to help users feel comfortable.”
Ahead of Youth Day, Mgwili-Sibanda shared some easy safety tips for users when using TikTok.
1. Act and speak out
- If there is something on the platform that users don't like and which goes against TikTok’s Community Guidelines, it can be reported immediately.
- The block feature also allows users to cut off any negative users from their account so there’s more time for them to create cool content.
2. Control and limit interactions
- When the account is set to private, users will be able to approve another user before they can follow their account.
- Users can choose who can find their account, respond to videos and send private messages.
- Users can decide who they want commenting or stitching their videos.
- For users aged 16-17, the default setting for Duet and Stitch is now set to Friends only.
- For users aged 13-15, this feature has been tightened even more on their videos. These users can now choose between Friends or No One for their account; the Everyone comment setting has been completely removed.
3. Encourage families to get involved
- The new bullying prevention guide has been introduced to help families learn how to identify bullying as well as tools to counter bullying and provide help to bullying victims or bystanders.
- The platform also has Family Pairing, a functionality that allows a parent to link their TikTok account to their teen’s to provide parents with insight and control over how their teens use TikTok. These features are also available for users outside of family pairing.
TikTok also has a number of resources for families who want to learn more about online safety, including its Youth Portal, Guardian’s Guide, educational safety videos and more.
IOL TECH