Worried About Who Your Teen Interacts With on TikTok? Read This

TikTok is the latest app to add more protections for teens, as parents now have the ability to block accounts and get notified whenever their kid uploads content.

The social media platform, which the Pew Research Center found 63% of teens use, announced the updates on July 30, 2025. They come a few months after TikTok rolled out several other parental controls as part of the Family Pairing feature which launched in 2020.

Here’s a breakdown of the newest controls.

New Family Safety Features on TikTok

Through the Family Pairing feature, which requires caregivers link their accounts with their teens’, parents have been able to adjust settings, such as managing screen time and direct messaging, as well as muting push notifications and filtering keywords. This is in addition to the dozens of features and settings found on TikTok teen accounts.

Now, TikTok revealed some new features that parents can access.

• Increased visibility tools. Parents will be pinged anytime their teen uploads a new video, story, or photo. Parents will also get to see if their teens (ages 16 to 17) allow others to download, Duet, or Stitch their content. Keep in mind, these features aren’t available for teens ages 13 to 15.
• Managed Topics visibility. Parents can now see what their teen has chosen to see more of on their TikTok feed. Category options include “Creative Arts,” “Dance,” “Fashion & Beauty,” “Food & Drinks,” “Health & Fitness,” among others.
• Block accounts. Parents now have the power to block specific accounts from interacting with their teen’s account. Content from blocked accounts will no longer be shown on the teen’s feed. While teens can request permission to unblock these accounts, only parents can grant final approval. Of course, teens have already been able to block accounts on their own.

The blocking feature is a critical one, says Stephen Balkam, founder and CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, a nonprofit organization aiming to make the online world safer for kids and their families.

“There will always be content that shows up in teens’ feeds that they simply don’t want to see or hear or experience in any way,” he says. “And I think it’s a very empowering thing for teens to have their own tools to block and to report, as well as for parents to have the ability to do so as well.”

Another feature that may benefit teens is TikTok’s new “Well-being Missions.” Users are rewarded with a badge after completing these short quizzes and interactive flashcards. Developed with input from the platform’s Youth Council and the Digital Wellness Lab, these “Missions” focus on promoting positive well-being. 

“It’s a sort of gamification of what we should be helping our kids with all of the time,” says Balkam. “This is one where kids will explore it themselves. They won’t be told by a parent or a teacher to do it. Everyone loves to get a reward, a badge, a smiley face—even us adults. And I think that’s just a really good way of engaging teens in something that they should be encouraged to do.”

A Wider Push for Parental Controls

TikTok isn’t the only social media platform that is focusing on upping its parental controls. Instagram, Snapchat, Roblox, and other platforms have rolled out their own protections, following much ridicule over the dangers of apps. That includes screen addiction, mental health concerns, and cyberbullying.

With another Pew Research Center report saying nearly half of teens are online almost constantly, more protections are needed. Although, many have their limitations. Titania Jordan, Chief Parenting Officer + CMO at Bark, a company aiming to protect kids online, previously told Parents that being able to verify a user’s age is proving to be difficult.

But experts say parental controls are just one part of the puzzle. Another is having ongoing conversation with your kids about their online activity. Yet, sometimes conversations like these can feel difficult to initiate.

Balkam says the first step is to curb your own emotions. He mentioned that doing so with his own daughter when she was a teen allowed her to feel comfortable trusting him.

“You’ve got to keep your own fears at bay,” he says. “If you lose it, they won’t get it.”

Then, it’s important to show interest and ask questions rather than making a quick judgment.

“Too often, we criticize our kids, we judge our kids, we jump to conclusions, and that shuts them down,” Balkam explains. “Ask questions, keep that dialogue [going], and keep the door open for them to keep coming to you with stuff.”