Set up TikTok Family Pairing

THE WALKTHROUGH

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Tap a step’s number to check it off. Your progress stays on this device.

0 of 7 steps done

1. 01

   Check the birth date first

   TikTok’s minimum age is 13 in most of the U.S. Protections follow the birth date on the account, so confirm it is correct. Every account under 18 starts private, gets a 60-minute daily screen time default, mutes push notifications at night, and cannot host LIVE. Under 16, direct messages are unavailable, comments stay friends-only, and posts are not shown in the For You feed.

2. 02

   Link the accounts

   On both phones, open TikTok and go to Profile > Menu > Settings and privacy > Family Pairing, then tap Continue. On your phone, tap Parent; on your teen’s, tap Teen; then tap Next on each. Follow the steps in the app to link the accounts. Afterward, your teen can make their own settings stricter but can’t loosen the ones you set.

3. 03

   Set daily time and scheduled time away

   On your phone, go to Profile > Menu > Settings and privacy > Family Pairing and select your teen. Set a daily screen time limit; one limit covers all of your teen’s devices. When time is up, your teen needs a one-time passcode from you to keep going. Use Schedule time away to block TikTok at set times, such as school or bedtime. Your teen can send you a request for more time.

4. 04

   Filter what shows up

   In your teen’s Family Pairing settings, turn on Restricted Mode to limit content with mature or complex themes. Use Filter keywords to keep chosen words, their variations, and hashtags out of your teen’s feeds; TikTok checks each post’s description. You decide whether your teen can see your keyword list. Under Search, decide whether your teen can search at all. Restricted Mode and time limits also stop your teen from logging out or switching accounts to get around them.

5. 05

   Limit messages and comments

   Direct messages are off for teens under 16. For a 16- or 17-year-old, use Family Pairing to decide who can send messages or message requests. At any age, decide who can comment on your teen’s posts and who can see the posts they liked. These settings control who can reach your teen, not what is said.

6. 06

   Review privacy and connections

   Open Review teen’s settings in Family Pairing for a view-only overview. Under Discoverability, you can switch a public account back to private. Decide whether the account can be suggested to others. Interactions shows who your teen follows, who follows them, and which accounts they have blocked. Where available, Manage blocked accounts lets you block an account for your teen. Do this together when you can.

7. 07

   Plan for problems, and secure your account

   Show your teen how to report: press and hold a post, or tap Share, then Report. When reporting, they can choose to have TikTok notify you. To block someone, open their profile, tap Share, then Block. Turn on Customized updates and more push notifications so TikTok can tell you if the accounts get unlinked. Then secure your own account: Settings and privacy > Security & permissions > 2-step verification, and choose at least two methods.