Parents, we know that keeping your children safe online is a priority for you. With the ever-changing list of apps and features, it can feel like an impossible task to keep up with all the best ways to protect your teen. Each app has different settings and content controls in place, but some are easier to find than others.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’ve made it to the right place! We created this to serve as a quick reference for safety features on some of the top platforms where teens are engaging online.
TikTok
TikTok is the most forthcoming about its safety features. It offers an adjustable curated feed called For You, a content filter called Restricted Mode, and a service called Family Pairing.
Interact with content to adjust your For You Page (FYP)
The For You Page is where every user can adjust content settings to match their preferences on the platform. For You tailors content to your specific interests, and content recommendations are based on user interactions, video engagement information, and device and account settings. Following new accounts, interacting with certain hashtags, sounds, effects or trending topics will also affect your future recommendations. Every interaction you take on the platform helps TikTok learn about your interests and suggest content. In other words, the best way to curate your For You feed is to use the app.
Likewise, long-pressing a video and choosing Not Interested will “teach” the platform what type of content you don’t like. Additionally, you can hide videos from specific creators or videos that include certain sounds, which will also affect your recommendations.
If you see content you think violates TikTok’s guidelines, you can (and should) report it.
Turn on Restricted Mode
Turning on TikTok’s Restricted Mode allows you to broadly restrict content by limiting the appearance of content not appropriate for all audiences.
Note: This is specific to the TikTok app. When on the web or mobile, Restricted Mode is on by default.
To turn Restricted Mode on:
- In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
- Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
- Tap Settings and Privacy.
- Tap Content Preferences, then tap Restricted Mode.
- Follow the steps in the app to set or enter a passcode to turn Restricted Mode on.
TikTok uses a combination of automated systems and human moderation to decide which content is suitable for all audiences and shown in Restricted Mode.
Examples of content not allowed would include:
- Profanity
- Sexually suggestive content
- Realistic violence or threatening imagery
- Firearms or weapons in an environment that isn’t appropriate
- Illegal or controlled substances/drugs
- Explicit references to mature or complex themes that may reflect personal experiences or real-world events that are intended for older audience
Consider using “Family Pairing”
Family Pairing is the most extensive way for parents to monitor a teen’s account. It allows a parent to link their TikTok account to their teen’s and set up a custom list of parental controls like screen time monitoring, muting push notifications, filtering keywords, search settings, and discoverability. It also offers parents the option to link their teen’s account activity to their own and change who can contact their teen and how (including who can like and comment on their teen’s videos).
Note: TikTok’s Family Pairing parental controls are available only on the TikTok mobile app and not on mobile and desktop browsers.
How to set up Family Pairing (link parent and teen accounts):
- In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and Privacy, then tap Family Pairing.
4. Tap Parent or Teen.
5. Follow the steps in the app to link accounts.
Instagram’s safety features are less robust than TikTok’s. Instagram allows users to make their account private, block accounts or commenters, turn off comments, and filter certain words. It also has a service called Family Center.
Set Your Account to Private
When you set your account to Private, your content will only be seen by the people who follow you, and you will need to approve any follow requests.
Note: Business profiles cannot be set to Private. To make your business account private, you need to change it to a personal account.
To set your account to Private:
- On your app, go to the menu in the upper right corner.
- Tap Settings and Privacy
- Under Account Privacy, toggle the button for Private Account to On.
Block an Account
When you block an account, they won’t be able to see any of your content. You also have the option to block other accounts they may already have or any new accounts they create, making it harder to interact with you again on Instagram. People you block aren’t notified when you block them.
Turn on Hidden Words
Instagram has a feature called Hidden Words that will automatically filter direct message (DM) requests containing offensive words, phrases, and emojis. You can turn both comment and DM request filters on in a section of your Privacy Settings called Hidden Words.
To turn on Hidden Words:
- On your app, go to the menu in the upper right corner.
- Tap Settings and Privacy
- Under Hidden Words, set up desired filters using specific words and phrases
About Family Center
Family Center allows parents to supervise their child’s account on Instagram using a set of tools and insights. Supervision is optional, and both the parent and the teen must agree to participate. It can be removed at any time by either person. The other person will be notified if you remove supervision.
Supervision allows a parent to set a time limit, set scheduled breaks, monitor time on Instagram, see which accounts they follow and who follows them, and see their teen’s privacy settings.
To access the Family Center:
- Tap or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap in the top right, then tap Settings and Privacy.
- Below For families, tap Supervision.
Snapchat
Snapchat’s safety feature settings are available on their website only (not in app). They offer a multitude of privacy settings, along with a Family Center for setting parental controls and safety settings specifically for teen accounts.
When a teen creates an account on Snapchat, by default their contact settings are set to “Friends and Phone Contacts Only,” and they can’t be expanded to strangers. Also, location sharing is turned off.
Snapchat requires teens to have several mutual friends in common with another user before they can show up in Search results or as a friend suggestion. (However, all of these safety features rely on the assumption that teens will use an accurate birthday when they create their account.)
Privacy Settings
Adjusting your privacy settings allows you to control a variety of things, such as who can contact you, send you notifications, view your story, see your locations, use your cameos selfie, see you in ‘Quick Add,’and see your activity indicator.
By default, only ‘Friends’ you’ve added on Snapchat can contact you directly or view your Story.
To adjust your privacy settings:
- Tap the ⚙️ button in the Profile screen to open Settings
- Scroll down to the ‘Privacy Controls’ section and tap an option
- Choose an option, then tap the back button to save your choice
About Family Center
Snapchat’s Family Center allows parents (age 25 and older) to see who their teens have chatted with in the last week, view members of groups they are a part of, see their list of friends, limit their teen’s ability to see specific content, and report concerning accounts.
To access the Family Center:
- Tap ⚙️ in your Profile to open Settings
- Scroll to the ‘Privacy Controls’ section
Tap ‘Family Center’
Discord
Discord offers privacy and safety settings, content filters, and the ability to mute or block a user. It also has a Family Center that includes an activity feed and weekly email summaries for parents. However, there is no way to prevent a child from turning off any privacy protections you put in place on their account.
Privacy and Safety Settings
The Privacy and Safety Setting section of an account is where users can adjust settings for sensitive media, DM spam filtering, and server privacy default settings. By default, whenever you’re on a server with someone else, they can send you a direct message (DM).
To adjust your privacy settings:
1. Select the gear icon [] near your profile.
2. Find the tab within your settings.
To block DMs from users in your servers who aren’t on your friends list:
Toggle off the ‘Allow direct messages from server members’ setting.
To block a user in your DM chat:
Select the @Username to bring up the user’s profile. Press the three dots in the top right to pull up a menu to block the user.
To adjust friend request privileges:
Open up your User Settings and select the ‘Friend Requests’ tab.
About the Family Center:
Family Center provides parents with an activity dashboard that allows them to monitor some activity, including: how many servers their child has joined, how many direct messages they’ve sent, and how many voice calls they’ve participated in. Discord’s Family Center doesn’t allow parents to view their child’s messages, place restrictions, or block users. Parents do receive an email summary of activity each week.
Note: To set up Discord parental controls, you’ll need your own Discord account, access to your child’s Discord account, and the Discord app on your phone (because the process requires you to scan a QR code).
To set up Discord parental controls:
1. Using the child’s Discord account, navigate to User Settings (gear icon).
2. Select Family Center.
3. Click Connect with Parent.
4. Click Reveal QR Code.
5. In the Discord app on your phone, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines).
6. Tap your user icon in the bottom right corner.
7. Tap Family Center.
8. Tap Connect with Teen.
9. Aim your phone camera at the QR code to scan it.
10. Tap Send Connection Request.
11. Tap Close.
12. On your child’s account, tap My Family.
13. In the Incoming Parent Requests section, tap the check mark.
14. Tap Accept Request.
15. Using the Discord app on your phone, tap the menu icon > user icon > Family Center to view your child’s Discord activity.
Safe Direct Messaging:
While you cannot view your child’s direct messages or voice calls in Discord, there is a setting that will automatically scan for and remove explicit content.
Note: Since this is not a part of Family Center, you’ll need access to your child’s Discord account to turn it on, and they can turn it off at any time.
To set up Safe Direct Messaging:
1. Using your child’s Discord account, navigate to User Settings (gear icon).
2. Select Privacy & Safety.
3. Select Filter All direct Messages.
Parents, you are the first line of defense for your kids. We’re here to help. Ready to take the next step in protecting your family from online exploitation?
Influenced Parent Academy is our online course created specifically to equip guardians with a deeper understanding of the dangers that exist in the digital world and the simple actions steps that can help prevent exploitation in your child’s life.
Influenced Parent Academy will soon be available as an online course you can participate in anytime, anywhere. Complete the form below to be notified as soon as it launches!
