Today, TikTok It is the most popular social network of all, and has millions of users who do not stop sharing videos every hour of different challenges, dances, performances and more. But there is a big question that hangs in the air about it, and that is, is Tik Tok safe?
Taking into account that the majority of users are young boys and girls, especially adolescents, it is very important to know if they are safe when using this social network. This is precisely what we are going to analyze next, so that you know what they are up against.
Why is Tik Tok so successful?
Why has it succeeded the way Tik Tok has done? The answer is very simple, and that is has everything a boy and a young girl could like. In this you can publish videos, which you can accompany with music and various effects. In 2019 alone, this social network accumulated a total of 614 million downloads, and to date, it has accumulated a record 1.500 billion users, which far exceeds Instagram. Of course, both Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are still above, at least for now.
The countries with the most downloads China is in the lead, followed by India, and to a lesser extent, we have the United States. This is an app that has been inherited from Musical.ly, founded in 2014. Together with Tik Tok, they made the decision to merge and adopt this name. Now, children no longer only talk about youtubers like Rubius or Instagram influencers like Dulceida, but also about tiktokers, like the famous Twin Melody twins. Now they, along with many others, are the idols of the masses.
What are the risks of this social network
As in social networks like Instagram, the main objective is to see and be seen, but this of course carries its risks. Tik Tok is a social network used by many under the age of 13Although this is precisely the minimum age for its use, it is difficult for it to be met. The biggest problem is that you never know who is on the other side of the screen, and this can be a portal that helps adults to harass minors.
There are not a few young people in secondary education, and even primary school, who claim to have received images of adult men masturbating and so on. That is why you have to be consistent with the networks, and make the necessary privacy settings to avoid this kind of situation. When they are younger, the use they make of their networks is more innocent, which is more than enough reason to control the profile of young people.
In fact, this app has already been withdrawn from Hong Kong for allegedly violating human rights, in an attempt by the Chinese government to spy on all its users for their benefit. The reason is that this application collects a multitude of data such as the apps you have installed on your mobile or the cache of the last text you have copied.
How to protect yourself on Tik Tok
If your child has a Tik Tok account, you must take certain precautions so that they are not in any danger and can use the application with complete peace of mind. First of all, go to her account and select the three dots that appear in the upper right corner. Enter and select the section Privacy & Security.
Make your account private first, so that only people the teen accepts will be able to see your profile. It would also be good to turn off the Let others find me option. This will not show the account as a suggestion so that anyone can find it and request a follow-up.
We continue in the Security section, where we recommend that you limit interactions to friends, that is, all those users who have been accepted as followers. There is no point in setting up a private profile if all requests from unknown people are accepted later, as this would be the same as having a public account.
Without realizing it, more information is given than you think, and without knowing it, you may be giving too much data to people without knowing how they plan to use it.
In the settings you can find a section with the name of Digital Detox. Thanks to this you can set a daily limit for Tik Tok usage. You can also activate the Restricted Mode, so that you do not receive trends and other videos that may be inappropriate for the young age.
Another issue to take into account is what young people post on their profile. On many occasions they have been recorded with their home in the background, a situation that can reveal their address, if there are security cameras, the type of lock and so on, even if there are valuables in their home. Depending on the room where it is recorded, it must be taken into account that it can be seen in the background, since there is a lot of personal data, such as notes in the fridge or WiFi passwords that can be a danger if they are discovered. Before making any publication, it is recommended do a good review of what you post to avoid future damage.