Millions of teenagers are using a new social app called TikTok. It focuses on creating short videos to upload, but it might leave kids open to predators (via Bangkok Post).
[More Android Users are Switching to iPhone]
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
TikTok
Critics of TikTok say that the app is popular amongst young girls, which exposes them to “caustic comments and other potential abuse.” The app markets its video community as “raw, real, and without boundaries” and claims to be appropriate for kids 12 and under.
There are already media reports about users getting flooded with disturbing comments, like asking for private contact information or to have the user post provocative images. Last summer the Indonesian government banned TikTok outright due to a petition signed by 170,000 people saying that lip-syncing to songs in revealing outfits wasn’t suitable for kids.
My daughter begged us to let her use TikTok. It is set up so only her friends can see her posts and she is not allowed to add people she doesn’t actually know. So far that is working.