When the time is right, you’ll probably want to give your kids a smartphone. This is a practical decision that requires education about the dangers of certain apps and websites and setting limits and protections to ensure children use their new device safely.
Both Android phones and iPhones have built-in system-wide safety measures that allow you to limit the sites your kids can see, the apps they’re allowed to run, or the time they spend on their device each day.
But some apps also have parental controls included—social media is no exception. These bespoke settings let you tailor an app to be suitable for your kids, keeping them away from inappropriate content and making sure they’re using social platforms responsibly.
In TikTok on your child’s phone, tap Profile, the menu button (three lines, top right), then go to Settings and privacy, and Digital Wellbeing. Here you can set a daily screen time limit, and turn on a restricted mode that filters out potentially inappropriate content—both options are protected with a PIN code, so your child won’t be able to change these options without knowing the code.
[Related: When to have the online-security talk with your kids]
There are some other configurations worth looking at in the Privacy menu (under Settings and privacy). For example, you can turn off comments and mentions, and prevent anyone else from sending a direct message to your child through TikTok (tap Direct messages then No one). These options aren’t PIN protected though, so your child could just change them back again.
If you also have a TikTok account, you can go further. From the Settings and privacy menu, pick Family Pairing to link your account to your kid’s. This gives you access to the screen time and restricted mode settings remotely, so you don’t have to keep grabbing your youngster’s phone every time you want to change something. It also lets you turn off direct messages remotely, so your kid won’t be able to turn them back on.
Instagram (available for Android and iOS) has gradually added more in way of parental controls and has a comprehensive guide for parents that you can find online. If your child is okay with you accessing the app on their phone, you can get to the settings by tapping the profile picture (bottom right), then the menu button (three lines, top right), then Settings.
Most of the options you’re going to be interested in are on the Privacy menu. For example, you can disable message and group chat requests from users that your kid isn’t following, (under Messages), as well as make the child’s account private, so follower requests have to be specifically approved (use the Private account toggle switch at the top). Unfortunately, your kid can undo any of these tweaks, whenever they want to.
There’s no way to really control what your child does on Instagram, but you can oversee their activity by making your own account and connecting it to theirs. To do this, open the app on your phone, go to the Settings panel and pick Supervision then Create invitation. Assuming your child accepts it, you’ll be able to see who they are following and who is following them, as well as how much time they’re spending on the app.
From the same Supervision menu, you can set time limits if you want to. What’s more, if your kid reports someone on Instagram (for bullying, for example), they can choose to send a report to you through the Family Center as well as to Instagram. However, you won’t be able to read their messages, or if they’re posting privately, you won’t see their posts unless they’ve accepted your follow request.
Snapchat
Snapchat (available for Android and iOS) doesn’t have the same sort of parental management controls as TikTok and Instagram, so it’s up to you to set the privacy settings for your kid on their own phone. Giving your young’un access to any social media platform always entails education and a serious conversation. But because there’s nothing to stop your child from undoing any tweaks you did on their Snapchat profile, you’ll need to be extra clear as to why each setting should be as it is and why it is in their best interest to keep them that way.
To get to the main page of settings in Snapchat, tap the profile picture (top left) and then the settings cog icon (top right). Open up the Contact Me option to ensure only your child’s Snapchat friends can message them—rather than anyone who might stumble over their profile.
Another setting you might want to take a look at is See My Location. Snapchat gives users a lot of control over this—so much so that you can specify individual people who can or cannot see where your kid is at any one time. Alternatively, you can turn the location tracking feature off entirely.
There’s also the View My Story option, which lets you and your child control who is able to see posts they send to their Story. If you choose the Custom option, then you’re able to specify particular people who can’t see your kid’s Story. Otherwise, the options are Everyone and the more private Friends only.
Facebook (available for Android and iOS) isn’t all that popular with the kids these days, but your youngsters may well have accounts that they use for keeping in touch with family. Facebook is like Snapchat: there are no built-in parental controls, so you’ll need to talk over the relevant privacy settings with your kid.
From inside the app, tap the menu button (three horizontal lines, top right), then pick Settings & privacy and Settings. If you pick Your time on Facebook you’ll find tools for limiting how long your child spends in the app—you’ll need to reach an agreement on these together, as there’s nothing to stop your kid from making further changes to these settings in the future.
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It’s worth checking out the Profile information section (to see the information your child is sharing with the wider world) and the How people can find and contact you section (to make sure your child isn’t too easy to find on Facebook). Meanwhile, under Posts, you can set the visibility of anything your youngster posts on the social network.
Under Profile and tagging, you and your child are able to set who is able to tag (or mention) them in posts, and who is able to post on their Facebook profile—these are options that you might want to restrict in some way for youngsters. At the very least, you’ll be able to have a conversation about what sort of content your kid should be putting out into the world, and who might be able to see it.
The post How to use built-in parental controls on Instagram, TikTok, and more appeared first on Popular Science.