No DMs, no strangers: TikTok upgrades teen safety

TikTok on Thursday launched “Teen Safety on TikTok,” an initiative aimed at strengthening protections for minors and limiting their exposure to adult users, harmful content and online exploitation.

The rollout was announced during a media roundtable and panel discussion featuring members of the #ThinkTwice Troop, composed of youth advocates, educators and creators. Speakers included Yves Gonzalez, head of public policy for the Philippines at TikTok; Hazel Bitaña, deputy regional executive director of Child Rights Coalition Asia; Claire Laison of the Ateneo Human Rights Centre; Mona Magno-Veluz, creator and digital historian; and Riyan Portuguez, psychologist and digital wellness advocate.

Gonzalez said the platform has built more than 50 preset safety and privacy features designed to create age-appropriate digital experiences for teens.

He emphasized that users must be at least 13 years old to join the platform. Direct messaging is disabled for users aged 13 to 15. For users aged 16 to 17, direct messaging is turned off by default, while those 18 and above may only receive messages from approved friends.

“With teen accounts under 18, their accounts are private by default,” Gonzalez said.

Private-by-default settings mean teen accounts are not openly discoverable by strangers, and adults cannot freely view their content. Posts from users aged 13 to 15 are not recommended on adult “For You” feeds, adding another layer of separation between minors and adult audiences.

“The reality is teens will be online. And of course we have to allow them to experience the online space in a way that will be safe for them. We have to provide them with the right tools, features, and protections,” he said.

Among the safeguards highlighted during the roundtable was the 60-minute default screen time limit for teen accounts. Once the threshold is reached, users are prompted to decide whether to continue. Parents can also link accounts through the Family Pairing feature, which allows them to customize privacy settings, view follower visibility and receive report alerts.

TikTok also provides controls over content exposure through tools such as Manage Topics, which allows teens to adjust how often certain types of content appear on their feeds, and Smart Keyword Filtering, which automatically blocks posts containing specific words or phrases. A dedicated “Time and Well-being” section within the app offers a screen time dashboard, guided well-being missions, journaling tools and calming audio features aimed at building healthier digital habits.

“There’s no one size fits all solution,” Gonzalez said. “Part of the objective of this campaign is actually to educate.”

Addressing criticism that TikTok’s algorithm can encourage excessive use, Gonzalez said the company is aware of global findings and continues refining its safeguards.

“In the industry we have the most robust safeguards,” he said.

Bitaña said Filipino teens often lack understanding of online risks.

“I think the biggest challenge the teens face today is the lack of understanding or awareness of why there are people online,” Bitaña said.

She added that many young users know something feels unsafe but do not know how to report it effectively.

“They want a low barrier reporting mechanism. Report and then they get feedback. Getting feedback is important for them. Also, they want to have a seat in the decision making table,” she said.

Laison emphasized that digital rights education is critical in helping minors recognize abuse.

“How do they know that it constitutes to abuse? So if they don’t know the law, it’s hard to understand for them that they are being violated,” she said.

“At AHRC, we teach them that they have rights. They also have responsibility to keep these rights safe. At the same time, holding adults responsible.”

Magno-Veluz said digital literacy has become essential for both teens and adults.

“Digital literacy is a life skill,” she said.

Portuguez added that excessive social media use is often linked to stress outside digital platforms.

“What I have observed as psychologist, we tend to use more social media if our offline space is not okay,” he said. “If communication is okay [with family], you can regulate it better.”

Portuguez said safe digital spaces are increasingly necessary as online interaction becomes normalized.

“It’s needed more than ever… There’s always benefits and consequences. We need to create safe spaces in the digital space to actually improve their wellbeing,” he said.

TikTok said protecting minors requires shared responsibility among families, schools, civil society and industry, as the platform continues refining safeguards to reduce teen exposure to harmful actors and content.