Is TikTok Safe? Here’s What You Need To Know

A third of the U.S. uses TikTok, but is TikTok safe? As a social media expert for over ten years and a safety expert for longer than that, I can tell you this: It’s as safe as just about any other social media platform. It doesn’t infect your phone with malware, but it comes with some safety risks like scams and saved user data. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe on TikTok.

Like many other social media sites (looking at you, Facebook), TikTok collects information about you when you use it. You can read its privacy policy yourself, but if that’s “TL;DR”, this is a summary of the information it collects:

• Any information you add to your profile, such as your age, language, phone number, photo, and email address
• Any information it can gain from third-party accounts (such as Facebook or Google) when you link them to your TikTok account
• Any content you upload, including photos and videos
• The information it can find about you from other “publicly available sources”
• Any information about what you searched for on TikTok
• Any information about your phone, including your IP address, your mobile carrier, time zone, apps, and file names found on your phone
• Keystroke patterns or rhythms
• Location data
• Messages you send and receive from other users

Once TikTok has your information, the company uses it in a variety of ways. Some of the uses include tailoring what type of TikTok videos show up in your For You Page (FYP) and learning how to target you with ads. TikTok also shares your information with third parties.

In late March 2023, TikTok announced that it has plans to store American data in America with American companies overseen by American personnel, which it carried through with. It has continued to say it will continue to ensure there is no app manipulation by any government entity. This change is in response to concerns raised during the United States congressional hearings against TikTok.

Is TikTok bad for kids? Is it safe?

“According to new data findings, TikTok is the most worrying social media app," says a spokesperson from Canopy.us, a digital family safety app. "While there are many risks posed to young users of the platform, parents can do several things to protect their kids from dangerous content."

TikTok has special protections for kids 17 and younger.

Here’s a summary of TikTok’s age-based restrictions:

• Ages 13 to 15:

  • Accounts are private by default.

  • Only approved followers can see your content and profile details and comment.

  • Others cannot Duet, Stitch, download, or reuse your videos in stickers or Stories.

  • A minor's account won't be suggested to others. You can turn it on in your privacy settings.
  • DMs are unavailable.

• Ages 16 to 17:

  • Accounts are also private by default, but privacy settings can be changed at any time.

  • Duets, Stitches, downloads, stickers, and Story shares are disabled for private accounts.

  • The account won't be suggested to others. You can turn it off in your privacy settings.
  • DMing is turned off by default, but can be turned on in the settings.
  • Only followers can comment as a default if your account is private, but this can be changed.
  • Friends can make stickers from content on public accounts. It can be changed to everyone in settings.

The TikTok algorithm gathers information about the videos you watch and feeds you more of the same. The more you watch, the more videos with that same content you’ll get on your FYP. Sometimes, these videos can be bad for your health.

In the documentary TikTok by Journeyman Pictures, one user describes how she happened to watch a video that included weight loss techniques. Soon, her feed was filled with extreme weight loss videos. This constant stream helped to fuel an eating disorder.²

In addition to potentially harming those with eating disorders, it’s easy to see how this type of algorithm can also be detrimental to those with depression or other mental health issues. One study found watchers may even develop illnesses (such as Tourette-like tics) by watching other’s TikTok videos in a strange phenomenon called “mass sociogenic illness.”³

Finally, unless you never post a video on TikTok, other people will be able to see you. Not to scare you, but posting images of yourself can lead to bullying and other forms of harassment. Cyberbullying can be detrimental to your mental health as well.

• Use a VPN. If you’re concerned about all the user data the TikTok app collects, set up a VPN. Our VPN guide will get you started.
• Use the privacy settings. On your profile page, tap on the menu, select Settings and Privacy, and then click Privacy. From there, you can choose who can follow you, comment on your videos, Duet and Stitch your videos, and more. You can also make your profile completely private if you just use TikTok to browse, not post.
• Use the Digital Wellbeing features. In the settings, tap on Digital Wellbeing. Then, decide how much screen time you want to limit yourself to when you’re on the app and set up the timer or screen-time breaks.
• Use a parental control app to control how much your child uses the app. Our top pick for a TikTok parental control app is Bark.

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1. FTC, Emma Fletcher, “Social Media a Gold Mine for Scammers in 2021,” January 25, 2022. Accessed April 14, 2025.
2. Journeyman Pictures, “TikTok,” 2022. Accessed April 14, 2025.
3. Movement Disorders, Caroline Olvera, MD, “TikTok Tics: A Pandemic Within a Pandemic,” July 28, 2021. Accessed April 14, 2025.