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TikTok is set to limit daily screen time for users aged under 18 to one hour as it seeks to control amount of time teens spend on the platform.  

On hitting new limit, the users will have to use a passcode to continue to use the service that day.

The users will, however, be able to opt out of the new measure, which is slated to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

TikTok said it is introducing the feature to help people “stay in control” of their use.

TikTok last year brought in a prompt to encourage teens to manage their screen time. It said this helped “increase the use of our screen time tools by 234%”.

Users of the platform have to be at least 13, and, as part of this new feature, anyone under the age of 18 will receive a weekly notification with a “recap of their screen time”. Users on the 60-minute limit will receive their new time limit passcode on a screen in their app as the changes take effect.

Those who opt out of the new 60-minute restriction, but goes on to use the app for 100 minutes a day, will receive a prompt from TikTok to set their own screen time controls.

Parents of children using the Family Pairing option on the app will also be able to set screen time limits, and also access a dashboard which would guide on app usage.

The company had worked with researchers in developing the new limits, said Cormac Keenan, head of trust and safety at TikTok.

Keenan noted that the firm consulted the current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital in setting the limit, as he acknowledged that ” there’s no collectively endorsed position on the ‘right’ amount of screen time,”

TikTok has been facing rising criticisms over its relationship with the Chinese government and protection of user data.

Earlier this week, the Canadian government became the latest to ban the app from government devices following similar moves in the United States.

In September 2021, TikTok said it had hit more than one billion active monthly users, making it one of the biggest social sites in the world.

It does not release a demographic breakdown of its users, but is viewed by social media marketers and advertisers as being a key platform to reach people under the age of 34.