With the TikTok app, short music videos can be recorded in portrait format, uploaded and shared on the network. TikTok has millions of songs ready for this. In addition to singing and dancing videos, sporty and artistic clips, animal and funny films can be found. The clips are usually provided with effects, filters or stickers and played back in a continuous loop. Depending on the setting, the results can only be shown to friends or to the whole world.
What Should Parents Know About The Security?
There are some criticisms of the TikTok app that may cause building pain for parents:
Data Protection
As with most large social networks, the handling of user data is viewed critically. A user account must be set up to participate. This requires a telephone number, email address or a link to another existing account. TikTok automatically reads the contact list or the phone book.
The clips uploaded to TikTok can also be shared on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The copyright for this has not been clearly clarified. Although the operator states that the songs offered in TikTok are licensed, copyrighted music should not be posted on other platforms! The basic version of TikTok is free. App purchases can be used to spend money on packages from one to over 100 euros. Some special effects and offers within the app are also subject to a fee.
Youth Protection
Even if the provider endeavors to protect minors, unpleasant dangers lurk on children and young people. The minimum age for the app is 13 years. The age restriction is not checked, however. In addition, there is no filtering when uploading the videos. Unfortunately, cybergroomers and people who only signed up to insult are also active on TikTok. Unknowns can contact the chat and comment function as long as the default settings are not changed. This is how dubious users specifically get in contact with children.
