Technologies
Is TikTok Safe for Kids? Change These 11 Privacy Settings Right Now
TikTok can be a dangerous place, especially for teenagers. Here’s how you can help protect them.
TikTok is the second-most-popular social media site among teenagers in the US. It not only offers kids an endless stream of entertaining videos, TikTok also connects people with their friends and family and with people who have similar interests. And it gives folks the chance to go viral with one of their own creations. But there’s also a dark side of TikTok.
Many kids and teens who have their videos go viral are subjected to harassment, ridicule and bullying. There’s also the worry of violent and obscene videos coming up in their timelines. Not to mention anonymous users sending inappropriate messages.
If you have kids on TikTok, or even use the service yourself, it’s important to become familiar with the features and settings TikTok offers to keep you safer while you’re online. Here are 11 settings that can help protect you from unwanted followers, harmful comments and violent videos on TikTok.
See everyone who views your TikTok profile
If you have a public account and you’re over 16 years old, anyone on TikTok can access your profile and watch your videos. (Accounts for people under 16 are automatically set to private.)
For many users, widespread exposure is the attraction of TikTok. It’s a chance for your content to be seen around the world. But you may not want everyone, like bullies or even some family members, to be able to view your TikTok account.
Luckily, it’s easy to find everyone who has looked at your profile.
- On TikTok, go to Profile and tap on the three-dash menu in the top right.
- Tap Settings and privacy and go into Privacy.
- Hit Profile views and toggle on Profile view history.


If you enable the profile views setting on TikTok, other people will be able to see when you check out their profile.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETYou’ll now be able to see everyone who’s viewed your profile in the last 30 days. If you find someone that you don’t want to have access to your profile and videos, you can then block them.
Block accounts on TikTok so they can’t see your profile
If you want to stop a certain account from being able to see your profile, you can block them — whether they’re harassing or stalking you, or for any reason you like.
- First, find the account you want to block and go to their profile.
- Next, tap on the three-dot icon in the top right.Â
- Finally, hit the Block button in the small menu that appears and then hit Block again when prompted.


Block someone’s account so they can’t see your profile, send you messages and more.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETNot only will a blocked account be unable to view your profile, they also can’t send you messages or even find your profile by searching for it. However, if your video is in a duet or you’re on a livestream with multiple hosts, it’s possible that a blocked account may be able to see those videos.
Set your TikTok account to private to control who can see it
The easiest way to maintain your privacy on TikTok is to make your account private, meaning only people you actively allow can view your profile and videos. To make your account private:
- Go to Profile in the nav bar at the bottom of the page.
- Tap the three-dash menu in the top right.
- Hit Settings and privacy > Privacy
- Toggle Private account to On


If your TikTok account is private, only those you accept as friends will be able to see your videos.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETAfter changing to a private account, only users that you approve can follow your account and watch your videos, but existing followers are allowed to continue following you. If that’s a problem, you’ll need to individually block any followers that you don’t want seeing your videos.
Stop people from downloading your TikTok videos
By default, anyone who stumbles across your video on TikTok can download it using the site’s built-in video download feature. If you don’t feel comfortable with other people having your videos saved on their devices, you can disable that feature.
- Go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy
- Tap Downloads underneath the Interactions heading
- Toggle Video downloads to Off


There are still other ways to download videos from TikTok, especially with third-party services.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETUnfortunately, there are other ways that people can download your videos, such as screen recording, third-party apps and shortcuts, but this setting will prevent one of the most popular (and easiest) ways of downloading videos from TikTok.
Report problematic accounts, videos or comments on TikTok
Blocking an account may not always be enough. If an account is pretending to be someone else or harassing people in general, you might be able to report the offending actions and have the account restricted or permanently banned. Not only can you report individual accounts, but also specific videos, comments and direct messages.Â
To report hateful, violent or other prohibited content on TikTok:
- Account: Go to the account profile of the offending party, tap the three-dot icon in the top right, hit Report and follow the instructions.
- Video: Long press on the video, tap Report and follow the instructions.
- Live: Long press on the live video, tap Report and follow the instructions.
- Comment: Long press on the comment, tap Report and follow the instructions.
- Direct Message: Long press on the message or messages, tap Report and follow the instructions.


You can report TikTok accounts, videos, comments and other improper behavior.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETYou can report something for a variety of reasons, including minor safety, disordered eating, self-harm, adult nudity, bullying, harassment, spam, harmful misinformation, illegal activities, violent content and more.
Stop TikTok from recommending your account to other people
If you want your account to stay low-key and away from too many people’s eyes, you can stop your account from being suggested to other people that might have your contact information on their phone or have mutual friends with you. To stop your account from being recommended by TikTok:
- Go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy
- Tap Suggest your account to others
- Toggle off all the options


By default, your account is suggested to other people on TikTok.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETYour TikTok account is normally suggested to several groups, including your contacts, Facebook friends, people with mutual connections and people who open or send links to you (including links to content on TikTok that are shared outside of TikTok). Disable all of the settings to stop your account from being suggested at all, which will make it harder to find.
Keep your TikTok comment section safe and healthy
Comments on any social media service can quickly turn hostile, and TikTok is no exception. Fortunately there are several features buried in your TikTok settings to help you moderate your comments and eliminate spam and hateful comments.
To find your comment settings, go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy > Comments. Consider adjusting the following settings:
- Who can comment on your videos and Stories: Choose between all of your Followers, Followers that you also follow or No one.
- Comment filters: You can choose to filter all comments, only spam and offensive comments or comments with certain keywords. All filtered comments will be hidden until you individually approve them.
- Comment management: Here is where you can review your filtered comments, choosing Approve or Delete to decide which comments will appear beneath your videos.


Don’t like what’s going on in your comment section? Use these settings to manage it.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETRestrict who can tag and mention you on TikTok
As long as someone knows your TikTok username, they can tag you in other videos or mention you in comments. If someone is tagging you in videos you don’t want to see or mentioning you in comments as a way of targeted harassment, there is a way to prevent unwanted tagging.
First, you’ll need to find the mentions and tags settings. Go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy > Mentions and tags, and configure these settings:
- Who can tag you: Choose between Everyone, People you follow, People that follow you back or No one.
- Who can mention you: Again, choose between Everyone, People you follow, People that follow you back or No one.


You can restrict who mentions and tags you on TikTok
Nelson Aguilar/CNETAn in-box notification setting can also send you a notification anytime someone you follow likes or comments on videos you’re mentioned in, but that doesn’t really affect your privacy on TikTok.
Stop direct messages from strangers and stalkers on TikTok
While most content on TikTok is out there for the world to see, direct messages aren’t so clear and visible. Many people use DMs to harass, bully and spam other people. However, there is a way to help prevent that from happening to you.
Go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy > Direct messages, and change these settings:
- Who can send you direct messages: Choose between Followers that follow you back, People you sent messages to or No one.
- Message preference: If you toggle Filtered requests on, messages from people that TikTok suspects as being malicious or spammy will appear in your filtered requests until you reply to them.


Don’t let just anyone send you a direct message.
Nelson AguilarRestrict who can Duet or Stitch your TikTok videos
On TikTok, you can react to other videos by either inserting yourself into their videos or using their videos in your own. The Duet feature lets you create a reaction split-screen video, combining half of your video with half of someone’s else’s video to create a single reaction video. With the Stitch feature, your video and someone else’s video are integrated into each other — you can edit a portion of their video into yours.
If you’re not a fan of these features or don’t want other users putting your videos into theirs, you can disable them so that no one can Duet or Stitch your video. To do this, go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy and then:
- Duet: Choose between Followers, Followers that follow back or No one.
- Stitch: Choose between Followers, Followers that follow back or No one.


The Duet and Stitch features are fun, but they can also get out of control.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETIf your account is set to private, no one but you can create a Duet or Stitch with your videos.
Prevent others from viewing your following list and liked videos
You might post videos on TikTok for everyone to see, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want everyone to be able to see who you’re following or which videos you like. Who you follow and what you like can give others more information than you might want to share, but you can easily set TikTok so that no one but you can see your follower list and liked videos.
To stop others from viewing your following list or liked videos, go go to Profile > three-dash menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy and then:
- Following list: Choose between Followers or Only me.
- Liked videos: Choose between Followers or Only me.


Just because you follow accounts and like videos doesn’t mean the whole world needs to know it.
Nelson Aguilar/CNETÂ If you select the “only me” option for the following list, other users will still be able to see your mutual friends.
For more about TikTok and privacy, learn how the company is protecting young users from inappropriate videos and why some US regulators are worried about TikTok sharing private user data with China.
Technologies
Iranian President Pezeshkian to head to New York for UN meeting as Trump warns of no-deal consequences
Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s economy or eliminate its leadership if Tehran doesn’t strike a deal, complicating efforts at diplomacy.
President Masoud Pezeshkian will lead an Iranian delegation at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, amid renewed hopes for a diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict.
Pezeshkian will address the assembly and present Iran’s positions on “international developments,” according to the country’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, with a particular focus on its war with the U.S. and Israel.
He will also hold talks with the leaders of several countries on the sidelines of the event, which is scheduled to take place Sept. 22 to 26, and 28.
The Iranian delegation’s attendance at the UN has renewed hopes for a diplomatic solution to the war, lifting market sentiment on Monday, with stocks rising, oil prices easing and global bond yields falling sharply.
But U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he would be open to meeting Pezeshkian during the assembly, has threatened to destroy Iran’s economy or eliminate its leadership if Tehran doesn’t strike a deal.
Trump told Fox News on Sunday that the only options on the table were “wiping Iran out,” or letting its economy “rot,” unless both sides reach a deal.
Separately, Iran’s military said that its intelligence suggested a new, large-scale strike being prepared by the U.S. and its allies, warning of “painful” retaliation across the Middle East. Regional countries backing such a strike would be treated as parties to the conflict, it said.
“If the U.S. makes any mistake against the Islamic Republic of Iran, all its positions and interests in the region will be targeted by sustained, effective and painful attacks,” the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters of Iran said, according to Tasnim.
Houthi-Saudi conflict complicates diplomacy hopes
The U.S. State Department this weekend issued a security alert citing risks of unforeseen escalation in the Middle East, telling Americans to exercise more vigilance and be aware of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures.
The warnings came after Iran-backed Houthi militants claimed missile and drone attacks on Riyadh on Saturday, triggering the first air-raid alert in the Saudi capital since fighting escalated in July.
Saudi authorities said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and reported no casualties or damage. The Houthis also attempted to target civilians and infrastructure in several parts of the kingdom, Saudi-led coalition forces spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Maliki said on X on Saturday, though those attacks were thwarted by the country’s air defenses.
Oil prices have pulled back in recent days despite widening hostilities, as traders hope for a recovery in energy shipments from oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
Oil prices will remain high despite U.S. progress in moving oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a team of analysts at Eurasia Group said in a Saturday note. Any rebound in oil flows would not be enough to address the overall market deficit, they said, forecasting Brent prices to trade in a higher band of $90-110 per barrel through the rest of this year.
“Iran’s leadership will stick with resistance, even as they quarrel internally,” according to the consultancy firm, as Tehran seeks to use military proxies and tanker attacks to keep a chokehold on shipping flows, to pressure Washington into concessions.
Tehran has insisted that it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Washington fulfills its commitment under the June memorandum, which called for lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports, easing sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets and ending U.S. military threats.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday that Iran must keep on fighting and negotiating, to push back its enemies, and only work on diplomacy when it has the upper hand on the battlefield.
Technologies
U.S. crude oil drops below $100 a barrel as Trump signals willingness to negotiate with Iran
U.S. crude oil prices slipped back below $100 a barrel after President Trump signaled openness to talks with Iran and halted plans to bomb Yemen, while Middle East supply flows remained robust despite pipeline disruptions.
Crude oil prices declined for the fourth straight session on Monday after President Donald Trump reportedly decided against bombing Yemen for the time being and indicated he was open to diplomatic engagement with Iran.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 2.7% to $97.59 per barrel by 7:48 a.m. ET, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, slipped 2.8% to $101 a barrel. The market has risen more than 11% so far this month.
Trump told Fox News he would likely be receptive to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the United Nations General Assembly later this week.
According to The New York Times, the president has decided not to target the Iran‑aligned Houthi militants for now, despite requests from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, crude shipments from the Middle East appear resilient after Saudi Arabia shut down its East‑West pipeline following attacks. JPMorgan analysts noted in a September 18 report that oil flows from the region remain surprisingly strong, averaging 17.1 million barrels per day over the past 10 days—about 6.1 million bpd below the 2025 average.
Potential supply disruptions persist. Trump told Fox that he is in a “deciding mode” and that “very big things” are expected soon regarding the U.S.–Iran conflict.
Prices are likely to stay closely linked to the pace of export normalization and diplomatic progress, said Daniel Takieddine, co‑founder and CEO of Sky Links Capital Group.
Any setback or renewed deterioration in shipping conditions would tighten the physical market and restore upward pressure on prices, Takieddine added.
Technologies
White House TV press pool won’t cover Trump after CNN ban
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White House TV press pool won’t cover Trump after CNN ban
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Politics & Policy
White House TV press pool won’t cover Trump after CNN ban
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