New TikTok Group Chat Feature: Connect with Up to 32 Friends While Prioritizing Teen Safety

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

TikTok added a new feature, group chat, which can accommodate up to 32 people. But, feature This is only available to users aged 16 and over.

In a statement on its official website, the company said that this feature was created to make it easier for users to share content and allow users to “create shared viewing experiences with friends, family and communities”.

“People can create special groups of up to 32 people through group chat and easily share their favorite videos,” TikTok said on its official website, Monday (12/8).

TikTok ensures that the development of this feature takes into account security, especially for teenage users. According to TikTok, this feature is the same as Direct Messages (DM) which is not available for teenagers aged 13-15 years.

“To help teenagers aged 16-17 enjoy the benefits of this feature, we are taking important steps to prevent contact with strangers,” TikTok said.

This means that teenage users cannot join chat groups only because they have been invited or added by their friends (when both accounts follow a each other).

If a teen is sent a link to join a group chat, they cannot join unless the group has at least one friend.

Then, if they are eligible for membership, they will be asked to proactively decide to join.

“When a teenager creates a group chat, we basically ask them to review and approve new members,” TikTok explained.

In addition, TikTok also provides a feature to disable messages or entire chats and report if they are concerned that the content violates Community Guidelines.

“We also limit the number of groups someone can create and the number of times a message can be forwarded,” TikTok said.

[Gambas:Video CNN]

(tim/dmi)