Social
TikTok
Short videos that start the next one. The For You page learns the child faster than you can.
Looked at November 10, 2026.
The Living Meter on this desk is 23 of 100. Read the score. Under 45, it does not play. How to keep it off.
What a parent needs to know
It does not wait
The next video starts itself. A child does not choose a second time. They stay.
The page learns them
What they watch becomes what they are shown. A dark run of videos gets darker if no one interrupts it.
They can post
A face, a room, a school. Once it is up, a delete on their phone is not a delete everywhere.
What it is
TopWhat is it?
A feed of short clips, plus messages and a profile. The feed is the product.
Is it free?
Free. The cost is time and whatever they post.
Is there an age?
The terms say 13. Younger children use it on someone else’s phone, and on a television.
What to do about it
TopDo this before the account has a habit.
- Family Pairing, with your account as the parent.
- Screen time inside the app, and a time on the phone that matches it.
- Direct messages off. Account private. No live video.
By age
TopUnder 13
Not on their phone. If a sibling’s device has it, that device is not the little one’s.
13 and up
Private, timed, and not in the bedroom. You look at the Following list with them.