Teenage Tiktok users are to be limited to an hour per day of screen time by default as the Chinese-owned app bows to pressure over social media addiction.
Tiktok is to set an optional 60-minute limit for account holders under 18. Although it can be turned off, teenagers who do so will be sent a daily warning and advised to add a self-imposed limit if they spend more than 100 minutes in the app per day.
TikTok users are able to scroll through a near limitless number of short videos, typically including sketches, dance moves or viral trends.
According to Ofcom data, there are five million British 15 to 24-year-old TikTok users who spend close to one hour on average per day scrolling the app.
The social media company has been adding features to control the screen time and visibility of younger app users, such as making the accounts of users between 13 and 15 private by default and disabling notifications at bed time.
Some politicians have attacked TikTok’s algorithm and the way it is able to keep users hooked, with one US politician calling the app “digital fentanyl”.
In a blog post, TikTok’s head of Trust and Safety, Cormac Keenan, said there was “no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is ‘too much’”, but said “teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently”.
TikTok said in tests its tools prompting teens to watch their screen time had increased the use of its screen-time limits by 234pc.
The social media app also said it would update features that give parents more control over their child’s TikTok usage.
TikTok features a “family pairing” mode, where an adult can link their TikTok account to that of a child. This will now allow them to see a summary of their total screen time, block notifications and remotely set usage limits.
TikTok is facing additional scrutiny after the White House and Brussels both banned officials from using the app on government devices amid concerns that its Chinese ownership poses a security risk.
The app’s changes come as the UK’s Online Safety Bill, which is designed to regulate tech companies and protect children online, grinds through Parliament.
The bill is currently facing a vote in the House of Lords amid calls to further strengthen its provisions around pornography.
The new laws threaten to impose fines worth billions of pounds on technology companies for breaches, such as exposing children to illegal content online.