It’s a Chinese social network. which has become much more popular during 2020. Even its growth has been a surprise to many people around the world, surpassing other networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube in number of downloads.
Its launch took place in 2016 but its boom has been such that by October 2018 it already had more than 130 million users. In this way, all kinds of people have been able to enjoy their content or join the community of creators.
However, it has caused controversy on some occasions. Because of that, in this post we will deepen about the opinions about TikTok and how safe is this new social network for children and adolescents?.
TikTok What can be done and how does this social network work?
One of the most attractive aspects of TikTok, it is very easy to use. With it, people can create, edit and musicals in 1 minute. Each of these materials they can be edited with filters, effects and add the musical background to them. Added to that, there are other interesting and slightly more advanced features like some artificial intelligence features, augmented reality, etc.
Without a doubt, it is a space of great possibilities for content creators. Other features that it offers are the possibility of send messages, make votes, lists of friends and of course a system of followers and followers. If you previously used musical.lyit will not be difficult for you to use TikTok since both are very similar. Similarly, it can be compared to instagram but focused on the videos.
Let’s see how it works below:
How does TikTok work?
Regarding its operation, it is very simple. There is a main screen where the most popular videos or the people you follow are shown. To pass the videosit is necessary to swipe up or, if you want to go back to the previous video, just swipe down.
For his part, he has a explore section to discover new content or new users. Likewise, you can navigate between . to all videos you can give them, comment or even share. On the same main screen, there is a button with a plus sign (+) that takes you to the Video recording and editing tool.
Each one of them can be recorded with different takes that you can later cut, paste and edit with filters, effects and much more. The editor is in charge of marking with different colors the areas in which the audiovisual material is being edited. As additional information, you should know that you can create videos from a series of photos that you select. Finally, you will be able to share videos or exchange messages with other users of the platform in the messaging section.
Analyzing TikTok Complete review of the trendy social network for teenagers!
Just enough use the social network a few times to become familiar with it. However, in case you haven’t had a chance to do so, we decided to give you a full breakdown of everything you’ll get in it.
Pay attention:
Contents
The types of content that are handled they are very varied, since there is space for all types of users, brands, etc. In this sense, you will find joke videos, tutorials, choreographies, interviews, and many more. This means that there is material for all interests and tastes. As you use the platform more, follow accounts and give likes, the videos that appear on the main screen adjust to your tastes.
Community
This is a social network with a huge community presentTherefore, there are all kinds of . However, one of the requirements for its use is that the account must belong to a person over 13 years of ageTherefore, no minor should use it or upload content without the supervision of their representatives.
Out of that, anyone has the opportunity to create content within the platform. Taking this into account, its use can be positive or counterproductive, since on many occasions videos that encourage hate or encourage controversy are leaked. Hence, the importance of parents constantly supervising the activity of their children within TikTok. Thus, they can ensure that they are not exposed to unwanted content.
Security
In general terms, It is a very safe network to use. But multiple vulnerabilities related to the security of the data of its usersall this supported by a study carried out by the cybersecurity multinational check point. The security gaps that were found allow the access to cyber attackers to manipulate data such as adding or deleting videos, making changes to users’ privacy settings, and accessing or extracting personal data such as email.
How can hackers do this?Well, it’s very easy. According to CheckPoint, when the new user is downloaded receives a link via SMS. In the investigation, it was found that a person could impersonate the social network and send a false text message with a malicious link. Consequently, through the malicious link they can access the user’s account and manipulate it at their convenience.
Apart from that, it was also possible to show that the subdomain of TikTok was vulnerable to XSS attackswhich inject scripts malicious on websites. However, it should be noted that These are isolated cases, which means that the percentage of users to whom it can happen is low.
Privacy
In Internet there are all kinds of usersTherefore, it is essential to be familiar with the privacy settings to avoid exposing yourself to unwanted people. In the case of TikTok, there are certain restrictions that can be taken into consideration.
For example, you can feedback from users outside your community going to the option Who can post comments. Subsequently, you have to select Friends either disabled. Likewise, comments can only be activated on a specific video. Added to that, you can disable other features such as duets, eliminate spam in private messages, block some types of notifications, block users, etc.
Does TikTok violate our privacy? Why does the US government want it to stop being a Chinese platform?
Over time, this social network has gone through many controversies worldwide. One of the most prominent is related to the indictment by the Federal Trade Commission for violating children’s privacy law. According to said US agency, the platform has collected personal information from children illegally because it allows them to use it without the consent of their parents.
To solve this, the team of TikTok He assured that they have taken additional measures with the aim of guaranteeing the safety and protection of minors. In this way, the company is designing a separate experience focused on the little ones, in which These users will not be able to perform actions such as sharing their videos, commenting on videos or sending messages to other users..
Added to that, they presented other problems in which, according to the wsj (The Wall Street Journal) it could be verified that violated Google Play’s privacy guidelines by using an alternative method to capture and save people’s MAC addresses that entered from Android devices, to later transfer them to Byte Dance servers.
The magnitude of this news was such, that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, was about to suspend its use in the country because it could be violating privacy American citizens and be at the service of the Government of China. Among the novelties regarding the subject, it can be highlighted that the September 23, 2020 the platform filed a preliminary injunction request to prevent its use from being banned in the United States.
TikTok Conclusion Is this social network safe for our children and younger family members?
In the first instance, It may seem like a very innocent platform that doesn’t cause major damage.. Nevertheless, It is one more way to influence people., which means that it generates an impact in one way or another. For this reason, the most important thing is to control, as far as possible, the content to which our children and younger family members are exposed. It is recommended that parents and guardians always keep abreast of the videos they consume.
Apart from that, they must make the necessary configurations to maintain their security. You have to remember that in TikTok there is a wide community of content creators and many of them share tutorials or challenges that can be dangerous. So the main thing is keep track of videos that the little ones see In this way, physical or psychological consequences are avoided.
TikTok parental control How to control what my children see on this platform?
The safest way to control the content that children see on TikTok, it is through him. This is a functionality with which the exposure time is regulated on this social network, and which allows a series of configurations to be made to keep the little ones safe. First of all, we recommend you to use the element of digital wellbeing (which is password protected).
Thanks to it, users who have been in the app for more than 2 hours are alerted. It also has a “restricted mode” to be able to filter inappropriate content present on the platform. Another important action that parents are encouraged to take is to set the account as private. The objective of this measure is that the videos are only seen by the creator and it is possible to approve or deny users. You can also limit incoming messages to followers only.
Some of the other features that allow parents to control the environment that children are exposed to when entering TikTok are:
- Family Pairing: Thanks to the Family Safety Mode provided by the social network, parents can keep their children safe while using the app. They can see different details like who they see, what accounts they follow, etc.
- Direct messages: only those over the age of 16 can send and receive direct messages.
- Modifications in the virtual gifts policy: Currently, people who are over 18 years of age are the ones who have the permission to buy, send or receive virtual gifts.
- Control Education Series: is a series that focuses on helping users understand how they can filter comments, set their account to private, restrict duets, among others.
Among all the advances made in terms of security, without a doubt one of the most notable is that of the deactivation of direct messaging for children under 16 years of age. With this, it seeks to prioritize the safety of minor users.
Finally, there will always be the option of report content In case there is any material that…
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