TikTok privacy terms panic
Viral posts claimed TikTok's new terms let it start tracking sensitive personal data, but fact-checkers found the same wording in the 2024 policy, and the main real change, wider location data, can be switched off.
Should I worry?
There is no need to panic. The sensitive categories people shared in screenshots were already in TikTok's 2024 privacy policy, so the practice did not begin with the change of ownership, and experts describe the terms as standard for the industry. The one real change is broader location data, and your teen can turn it off in the app's privacy settings. Sitting down together to review those settings is a good idea anyway, whatever the headlines say.
How to join in
Your teen has probably seen alarmed videos or screenshots about this in their feed. It is a good chance to ask what they have heard and whether their friends are deleting the app over it. Treat it as a chance to practise checking claims: looking at what the policy actually says and what fact-checkers found, instead of trusting the loudest post.
Try saying
“I saw some posts saying TikTok's new rules are scary. I looked it up, and most of it was already in the old policy, so it's less dramatic than it sounds. Want to go through the privacy settings together and switch off the location stuff if you don't want it shared?”
Sources
From Mistlift, mistlift.app. Plain talk about what kids are into online.