ByteDance adds time limit for kids to Chinese version of TikTok

The Chinese version of video platform TikTok, called Douyin, will have a time limit for children under fourteen. Children are allowed to use the app for a maximum of 40 minutes per day. The service will also be inaccessible to children between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

TikTok parent company ByteDance reports in a blog post that Douyin users under fourteen automatically enter a ‘youth mode’ that they cannot turn off themselves. That measure applies to users with a ‘verified real name’. New users who are thirteen or younger are also automatically placed in youth mode. ByteDance calls on parents to help their children register with a verified real name or manually enable youth mode.

Users who are in this mode can watch videos on Douyin for up to 40 minutes per day. In addition, the app is only available between 6am and 10pm. Outside these times, the platform is inaccessible to children under fourteen.

ByteDance further reports that the content available to users in the youth mode will also include educational content. The company cites ‘scientific experiments, exhibitions in museums and explanations of historical events’ as examples.

The new time limit follows previous measures taken by the Chinese government to limit the time minors spend online. Beijing, for example, previously introduced measures that limit the online game time of minors to three hours a week. Game developers must also remove “obscene and violent content” from their titles.