Does TikTok have live feature that can secretly record children? Fact Check

A warning on social media urges parents to get their children off social media app TikTok because it has a live feature that allows paedophiles to watch children without their knowledge.

MOSTLY FALSE

A popular version of this rumour also tells the story of how a mother received a visit from the police as a result of her daughter live streaming a TikTok video, only to be watched by paedophiles. We rank this part of the message unproven.

An example on social media is below.

All mums need to no to get there kids off tiktok thers a thing on it called ok live which most dont no or cant see ive just had a visit from police to say that my daughter was live on it and 120 people were watching her play they cud see inside my home and she didnt no she was live! it was a woman had seen her and reported it thank god… this is peados apparently, russian ones…so police are trying to locate them… they came to my door with pictures off my daughter sitting playing and read out what sickos were asking her to do like ‘take your clothes off etc’ i wont repeat some of the other things they were asking.
I feel so sick it also came up on peado hunters and alarm bells went off everywhere hence visit from police. So innocent and yet so sick I am shaken to think all those sick f!@*s were watching her without her knowing its a good job she had not seen messages.
STAY ALERT keep your eyes on what your kids are on online, it just shows how easy it is for these animals to get through to our kids, I thought I had everything locked down on her Ipad, parental control the lot!
I will be watching every move she makes from now on, tiktok the lot has been deleted now, scared the life out of me.
We had NO FOLLOWERS on this account it was simply for watching dancing
Please Be Aware

The threats that social media apps present to children are a continual and persistent worry for parents. At a time where the latest “must have” mobile social apps are popping up almost every few months, we are all learning how to embrace the advantages they provide while also trying to simultaneously eschew the inherent dangers that are inevitable with apps that – by design – connect people.

As a society, we know and understand that the threats to children on the Internet are real, so it may be easy to conclude that messages warning of threats must be taken at face value. In a digital world full of countless apps and privacy controls, it can be easy to read a warning like the above and assume the worst.

However, if we learn about the apps that we allow our children to use, including how they work and the pros and cons of each, we can educate ourselves not only to help keep our children safe, but to also spot misleading information that emphasises alarm and panic rather than highlighting legitimate issues.

We looked at the above warning, and a sceptical examination revealed some inconsistencies that we explain below.

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Firstly, while TikTok does have a live streaming feature, at the time of writing there are certain requirements users must meet in order to use it.
– First, a user must have at least 1000 followers. The author of the above message has clearly stated that the account has no followers, meaning such an account could not live stream videos.
– Second, the minimum age limit to use the app is 13 years, and a user must be over the age of 16 to live stream videos. Under 16s use a limited feature version of the app that prevents live streaming, filters out videos flagged by other users and (as of 2020) prevents direct messaging. TikTik told us that if a person indicates they are under the age of 13 when signing up for an account, the registration process will stop and they will not have access to the app. From the TikTok website –

Select users, aged 16 or above may participate in the [Live Streaming] Program. Such users shall be selected exclusively at the discretion of the Platform on the basis of various criteria including their track record in creating quality content, number of followers etc.

Secondly, to use live streaming, a user has to click a button at the bottom of the screen, then select Live, then type in a title for the live stream, and then select Go Live. Given the number of steps needed, it is unlikely that a user old enough to use TikTok in the first place could activate the live feature accidentally or not be aware that the app is live streaming.

Thirdly, like all social media platforms, TikTok allows users to set the privacy of their account. If you select followers only, then this restricts videos and live streams only to those people that a user has allowed to follow them.

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As for the specific story outline in the message, the author appears to be anonymous, so we cannot determine how accurate many of the claims are (especially ones concerning visits from the police.)

Given the points outlined in this article, we rank the fundamental claim that TikTok has a live feature that covertly broadcasts children to paedophiles as mostly false. We accept that – as with almost any app of this ilk – there exists a “worse case” scenario whereas a child could potentially broadcast themselves to strangers. However, for that to happen, all of the following things must occur –

1. The child has managed to accumulate 1000 followers, or accessed an account that does so.
2. The child has managed to access an account belonging to an over 16, or has lied about their age during the registration process.
3. That no relevant privacy or parental controls were activated.
4. The child has somehow completed the four clearly labelled steps to live stream a video without realising what they were doing.

The dangers of children using apps like TikTok are real, but it is important not to misrepresent those dangers with warnings like the above that – at best – have omitted pertinent details that we’ve outlined here.

We rank the claim that TikTok has a live streaming feature that could inadvertently live stream a person to paedophiles as mostly false. We rank the tale in the message as unproven.

If you’re a parent worried about TikTok, then this article goes over the app in great detail as well as providing information on the parental controls that come with the app. Also note again that the app has a minimum age limit of 13.