TikTok: Direct Messages and Under-16 Accounts
TikTok does not make direct messaging available to accounts registered as under 16 — these accounts cannot send or receive DMs at all.
Published: 2026-03-10
What Changed
TikTok does not make direct messaging available to accounts registered as under 16 — these accounts cannot send or receive DMs at all. Accounts registered as under 16 are also set to private by default. These protections depend entirely on the date of birth given at sign-up: a child who registers with a false age will not be covered by them. TikTok's Family Pairing feature lets a parent link their own account to their teen's and manage settings such as direct messaging, screen time and content restrictions.
What to Review
- •Check that your child's TikTok account is registered with their real date of birth, since every age-based protection depends on it.
Parent Actions
- 1Set up Family Pairing from the app's settings to manage messaging and privacy on your teen's account, and talk to your child about only accepting followers they actually know.
- 2If they have a second account registered with a different age, discuss why that removes the protections designed for them.
Full app guide
View the complete TikTok safety guide
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Sources
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Last reviewed: 2026-03-15