Communicate, don't control, parents told as apps develop teen safety rules

For many parents, raising children in a digital-first world comes with new, unfamiliar challenges, especially when it comes to keeping their teenagers safe online without invading their privacy.

- Waad Barakat

While their kids navigate complex social platforms and endless content streams, parents often ask themselves: How can I guide them without crossing a line?

That question is increasingly shaping how major platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are developing their safety features, not just to protect teens, but to help families create a shared understanding of digital wellbeing.

"It's not about spying," Ilunga Mpyana, head of Public Policy Programmes for the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Pakistan, and South Asia at TikTok told Khaleej Times. "It's about sharing your experience with your teenager. These tools are meant to trigger conversation, to ask, what are you experiencing? What are your concerns?"

On TikTok, one of the main features designed to support this is Family Pairing, which allows parents to connect their accounts with their teen's. Once enabled, with the teen's knowledge and consent, parents can set screen time limits, apply content filters, monitor who their child follows or is followed by, and receive alerts when their teen reports harmful content.

"You're doing it together," Mpyana said. "It's about experiencing the platform together, not surveilling it."