Age guide
What age is TikTok ok for?
TikTok’s minimum age is 13, so it isn’t designed for younger children. Many parents wait until 15–16 for an unrestricted account; from 13, link Family Pairing, keep the account private, and limit direct messages.
Minimum age
TikTok’s stated minimum age is 13.
Local rules to check
- Platform minimums are a baseline. Local privacy or online-safety law can still require parental consent or a higher access age.
- EU/UK digital-consent thresholds vary by country: UK and Portugal 13; Italy and Spain 14; France 15; Germany 16.
- United States: COPPA rules apply under 13, and state social-media laws may add stricter account rules.
- Australia: covered age-restricted social media platforms must take steps to prevent under-16 accounts.
- TikTok account creation is generally 13+, but direct messages are 16+ and LIVE is 18+.
Why age matters here
- Minimum age is 13 — below that, the app isn’t designed for a child that age.
- An algorithmic "For You" feed surfaces content beyond accounts your child follows.
- Livestreaming is restricted to 18+ by TikTok.
If they do use TikTok — set these
- Switch the account to private so only approved followers see posts.
- Limit who can send direct messages to existing contacts only.
- Link the platform's family-pairing / supervision tool to a parent account.
- Turn off precise location sharing and location tags in posts.
- Restrict who can comment, or disable comments from non-contacts.
- Turn off account suggestions and find-by-phone/email so strangers can't discover the account.
- Enable restricted mode or the sensitive-content filter.
- Remove full name, school, age and identifiable photos from the public profile.
- Set daily screen-time or usage limits.
- Turn off activity status and read receipts.
- Turn off personalized ads and limit data sharing.
Check your child’s actual setup
Run the free scanner for a setup score on TikTok and the exact settings to change.