Tik Tok – a video-sharing app from Musically recently went out of the stores and was banned in India. The Chinese app is also known as Doujin in China and was taken off. That has created doubts in the minds of the users about its safety and reliability as a video-sharing service.
Let us check out Tik Tok, and how does it fare in today’s post.
What is Tik Tok?
Before we can analyze the safety considerations of the app, let us understand what does Tik Tok works to achieve and how does it work. This will help us go through a perfect analysis of its safety factors.
Tik Tok is basically a video-sharing TuTuApp APK. What makes it different from the rest of them is it lets you be creative and come up with your own videos. Put your dubbing and acting skills to some test and create those wonderful videos that are both funny and rejuvenating. The app was previously known as Musically and has grown to become one of the biggest social media networks with over 300 million users.
You can create a video where you can either sing or lip-sync with an already recorded song. You should be able to upload the short videos without the music as well. However, the app does come with a few concerns in terms of privacy concerns. That was one of the reasons why it was taken off from the app stores.
What made Tik Tok Go off the App Stores?
The developers of the app were fined to up to $ 5.8 million, and this had more to do with the privacy protection laws and non-compliance of Tik Tok with them. Signing up for the service does not verify age, and thus the app has been indicated not to comply with the provisions of the law safeguarding the interests of the users under the age of 13.
The app does come with under-age Free video editing software and other personal information. The service has been known to expose the children to predatory behavior. It has even been accused of exposing the personal information of the users within a radius of 80 km.
What are the Privacy Concerns in Tik Tok?
These were a few concerns that made it go out of the app stores; the app is rated 12+ on the App stores and has been rated as Teen Maturity. However, they have no option to verify the age of users, and thus, practically anyone can download the app.
If you are a parent of a young kid, this may not be the right app for you. The users have access to the inappropriate content without any sort of restrictions and thus may be harmful to the budding young minds. Popular music that has plenty of explicit kinds of language can be yet another huge issue.
What makes Tik Tok a good option for your creativity?
One of the excellent options we found on the app would include Digital Wellbeing functionality. It refers to the screen time management tool that limits your usage of the app to not more than two hours per day. Of course, the configuration can be disabled, which, in a way, defeats the very purpose of the setting.
However, when you configure it, you will need a passcode to continue beyond that limit. This can be a good option for the parents to configure the settings so that their kids will have restraint while using the app.
If you can make use of the tool in a better manner, it will be a great option for use for educational purposes. It can be used as a means for classroom assignments. However, it would be an excellent option for creating newer educational avenues.
Anything to worry about Tik Tok if you are a parent?
Anyone can have access to all the content available on Tik Tok without even signing in to the service. Of course, you won’t be able to post content – but can view all the content available.
All the accounts are public, and thus anything posted by you will be visible to every other user. This can bring out the possibility of some stranger with unwanted interests getting in touch with your kids. However, there is an option to control the access of a stranger to your Tik Tok account, though. You need to be friends with the person to begin communicating.
However, children- in their zeal to get more followers – can accept the friend’s requests from the people who may not be reliable. There are a few hashtags that have been found to come with a few anti-human thoughts and comments.
Are there any Safety Features on Tik Tok?
Yes, Tik Tok does come with a few safety features built within the ecosystem but does not seem to completely sufficient.
The Digital Wellbeing feature is one of the features that should make it quite an efficient option to limit the usage of the app for a limited period per day. The feature is password-protected, and you can configure a stronger password for the purpose. You can even opt for the restricted mode to avoid any kind of unwanted accounts and content.
You may also configure the account as private. That way, only the creator can have access to the videos and no one else on the app. You will permit only those users that you have accepted as friends.
The Parting Thoughts
Well, those were a few salient features that Tik Tok offers you and a few privacy issues you may come across while using the app. Remember one thing- Tik Tok may be one of the excellent options. But it is purely meant for the entertainment options, and it would better that we will keep using it just for the purpose alone.
Take care while using the app, and we don’t think it should pose any sort of issues for your kids in any way – as long as you are not overdoing it. Use it judiciously and make good use of the app.
