Adults only
TikTok to raise minimum age requirement for hosting live content in November
Heads up, TikTokers! The social media giant is set to increase the age requirement for users to be host livestreams on the platform starting late November.
Currently, TikTok allows content creators to host livestreams to any user over the age of 16 with at least 1,000 followers. But according to its news release that details their latest features, updates, and policies, users must be 18 and above to make live content starting Nov. 23.
It also revealed that it is planning to introduce a new way for creators to choose if they'd prefer to only reach an adult audience in their livestreams.
"For instance, perhaps a comedy routine is better suited for people over age 18. Or, a host may plan to talk about a difficult life experience and they would feel more comfortable knowing the conversation is limited to adults," TikTok explained.
Livestreamers will also be able to use an updated version of the keyword filtering tool to limit inappropriate comments during their stream. The upcoming version will send a reminder to people and suggest new keywords that they may want to consider adding to their filter list.
"The tool looks at the content a creator most commonly removes from their LIVE, spotting similar words in these comments and then suggesting the host may want to add these words to their filter list. When we tested this feature, we found that it nearly doubled those using keyword filtering when looking at the most popular LIVE creators," TikTok said.
@tiktoklive_creator Go LIVE together via Multi-guest | Enjoy going LIVE with 5 guests; try it and#golivenow #multiguest ♬ original sound - TikTok LIVE Creator
Aside from this, the video-sharing platform also announced a new multi-guest LIVE experience, wherein hosts can go livestreaming with up to five guests using a grid or panel layout.
These changes come as TikTok is making an effort to improve community safety on the platform, highlighting that these new features can "further protect the younger members of our community as they start and build their online presence".
Recently, the platform rolled out a new app called TikTok Now last month, where users get to casually share moments from their day in a way similar to Snapchat and BeReal.
