Zift Advisory
Note: This app is no longer available in the App Store or the Google Play Store. Musical.ly is a creative video sharing and social networking app that allows users to create, share, and discover videos that use popular songs. Musical.ly can be safe for mature teens with the right privacy settings and when their location services are off.
What is TikTok?
Note: This app is no longer available in the App Store and the Google Play Store.
Musical.ly is a creative video sharing and social networking app that allows users to create, share, and discover videos.
In their videos, app users lip synch, dance, create skits, sing duets and create tutorial videos over popular songs. The videos are short, and can be no longer than 15 seconds.
Filters and video effects can be used to enhance user videos, called "musicals." Users can shoot their musicals in epic, slow, normal, fast or time lapse mode. When editing musicals, users can reverse, repeat, and change the video speed. These options give users more ways to be creative with their content.
Users can post their videos publicly, which are shareable for all of the world to see, or can be shared privately when using a private account. Trending and popular videos can be found in the discover section. Hashtags can be used to make musicals more discoverable based on their topic or content.
Musical.ly users can also participate in themed challenges that are tracked using hashtags, like #ThrowbackDanceChallenge.
Musical.ly can be linked to other social networks like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Kik and many users link their profiles or share their usernames in their user bios.
Users can also live stream using Musical.ly. This feature was previously only available on Live.ly, but since the app's removal from the app store, its functionalities have been integrated into Musical.ly.
Is TikTok safe for my kids?
Musical.ly is not safe for kids, but can be safe for mature teens. The app is rated for kids ages 12+, but parents should know that inappropriate content has been reported to appear.
Musical.ly can be a lot of fun, but inappropriate material can be stumbled upon. Some of the songs on the app will include profane language and some videos contain inappropriate or suggestive dancing. Videos may contain crude humor, tobacco and drug references, alcohol, and suggestive themes.
There have also been some reports of videos showing explicit sex acts and asking users to submit nude photos. There are no built-in parental controls or content filtering available. Porn is only part of the problem, there is other concerning content on Musical.ly, including videos that are pro self-harm and eating disorders.
The app's location settings default to sharing your city, but that can be disabled them to keep a user's location private. The app also allows users to save their videos either publicly or privately. Videos saved privately can only be seen by the account that created the video. Publicly saved videos can be seen by all other Musical.ly users.
On Musical.ly, users also have the ability to make their profile public or private. With a private account, users can control who is allowed to watch their videos and who can directly message them. Even with a private account, all Musical.ly users will be able to see basic profile information like username, bio, and profile picture.
With the right privacy settings, Musical.ly is safe for mature teens.
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