The TikTok app has a great algorithm that you cannot get enough of. Social media enthusiasts have likened the app to a sweet hole of exciting content that would keep you coming for more. TikTok is steadily connecting folks worldwide with that special video sharing ability over most of the other social media networks.
However, the age of users on the platform is such a sensitive detail when it comes to it. Because with this age comes the issue of appropriateness. TikTok is looking for a way to connect users with content best suited for their age. Generally, it is more like the rule that children below the legal age should not be exposed to sensitive content such as violence or heavy language.
After becoming one of the most downloaded social media apps of 2020, it is no gainsaying that many of its users are under the age of 18, and this has raised concerns in some quarters. Although the app has said, it is instituting policies towards ensuring the best TikTok experience for users 13 and upwards.
However, in a surprise move, the company tightened its stance and decided to make accounts of users under the age of 16 private and removed the ability to change your birth date once it had been set. Now, if you have erroneously set up your age while opening your account, it might be tough to change it, as you will have to contact the official app’s customer support team. But for real, how can you do this easily? Let’s get started on this, shall we?
How do you change your age on TikTok
One of the first things to note is that it is virtually impossible to change your age on the app. The ideas are all the same on the app. TikTok essentially allows young people under the age of 13 to open an account. It believes this allows their guardians to be in charge of what their wards are seeing on the internet.
As mentioned earlier, it is not possible to change your age on TikTok without first contacting customer service. All you need to do is send a mail to the official TikTok support team at infocontact@tiktok.com. You can also choose to do this by contacting the support team through the app itself.
To do this, follow these steps;
- As usual, open the app, tap on the “Me” in the lower right corner, tap on the three dots, and then scroll the menu to tap on the “Report a problem” option. After, move to “Account and Profile” and “Editing the profile” and to “Other,” after which you move to “Still have a problem.”
- After doing this, a tab would be provided to type in a text that exactly reports the problem. Input something in the lines of “I need to update my birthday as the current date provided is incorrect. I am willing to share some IDs to prove my actual birth date. And then tap on “Report.”
- After this, if you are lucky enough, you will receive an official mail from TikTok on the official mail you registered with the company. Anyone that gets to speak to you may request a government-issued ID, and you can then hope they update your account with the actual date.
Many people might not want to reveal their personal information on the app; maybe this is due to the increasing popularity of the app. Or the fact that some folks might have just added false information about themselves. There has been a lot of confusion surrounding this change of age. Many people have had their accounts suspended or removed, and while many want to update this information about themselves on the app, they have been unable to find out how to do it.
Social media companies are responsible for sanitizing the medium and ensuring that children do not post or share videos on the app. It goes against the children’s online privacy protection act. TikTok is fast gaining notoriety for banning accounts on its platform. So, no matter how you look at it, if you are already getting likes on TikTok and do not want to lose your account, you might want to try this out.
Here are the other steps to follow
Aside from sending that mail we earlier mentioned, there is still no simpler method for correcting your birthday on TikTok; you might have to wait before your age updates. This is because you are relying on the app’s support team. It is only fair you expect that the support team would be daily inundated with complaints. So, you might have to help yourself. There is the chance to edit your name, username, and even your Bio on the app. But it seems that there is no way to change the user’s age when it comes to the user’s age.
You might think this is of no use, but you never know when you need to go on live for an important task, and you are not allowed to because you are not up to the legal age. One of the best things to do is open a new account for a start.
- First, log out of your account, and you can do this by simply tapping on the “Me” button just at the right-hand corner of your profile. After this, tap on the three vertical dots to show the “Settings and Privacy” screen. Scroll down, and tap to log out. After this, you will be directed to the app’s home screen.
- Tap on the “Me” icon, and then you can sign up. And when you do that, you can see any of the options. After following all the prompts, you will get to the “When is your birthday” part and try as hard as possible to avoid the last mistake. Recheck to make sure your birth year is correct. After doing this, proceed with any other business you might have.
- Finally, if you consider how your other account would fare, all you just have to do is go back to your other account, download all your content, and then reupload. Boom! You have your old account back. In no time, you would also have your old followers back.
In conclusion, TikTok had to remove the ability to change your birth dates to protect the minors who have been accessing this extra functionality to change their birth dates and gain access to some illicit content. Extra functionalities include getting TikTok coins, starting live streams, and even direct messaging.
