TikTok sets a one-hour screen time limit for teenagers 

TikTok announced on Wednesday that users under the age of 18 will be limited to one-hour daily screen time as part of the company’s latest measure to prevent teenagers from scrolling for hours. 

When the 60-minute screen time limit is reached, users will be required to enter a code, “requiring them to make an active decision” to extend the time they spend on the application, the company said. 

The one-hour daily screen time limit will be the new default setting in the application for everyone under the age of 18. However, users will be able to turn the default setting to opt out of the strict time limit. 

The company believes that the new feature will bolster the digital well-being of young users by reducing the amount of time they spend scrolling through videos on the application. 

“While there’s no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is ‘too much’, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we recognize that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently,” said Cormac Keenan, TikTok’s head of trust and safety, after consulting with researchers and experts about app time limits for teen users. 

Keenan added that if a teenager decides to opt out of the new default setting and is spending more than 100 minutes on the application per day, they will be prompted to set a time limit for themselves. 

“In our first month of testing, this approach increased the use of our screen time management tools by 234%,” Keenan said.