TikTok Wants To Keep the Teens Safe

TikTok has detailed new updates to its privacy policy that focus on teens between 13-17.

AUGUST 13, 2021 It's August 13, 2021. Welcome to another Friday! Ready for a new music playlist? Of course you are. Have fun, and we'll see you next week. Apple Music | Spotify     ⏰ Today's Big Stories... in 30 Seconds Today We Watched, Read, and Listened to (so you don't have to): 451 articles, 11 podcasts, 16 press releases, 310 tweets, and 20 YouTube videos 1. TikTok Tweaks Privacy Policy for Underage Users TikTok announced significant changes to its privacy policy on Thursday to ensure the safety of underage users. Among these changes are a way to choose who can watch minors' videos, and a setting that makes videos made by 13- to 15-year-olds private by default. We're into it. Keep it up, TikTok. 2. Zoom Introduces New 'Focus Mode' to Prevent Distraction Zoom has a new Focus Mode that hopes to help kids stay focused during their remote classes. The feature allows teachers to view all the screens from their students as usual, but students will only see their own and the teacher's, unless the teacher decides otherwise. Good luck cheating now, Jeremy. 3. Twitch to Implement New Chat Filters to Combat Hate Raids  Twitch is implementing more safety features to protect marginalized streamers from further harassment. Twitch stated that it detected a vulnerability in its proactive filters and updated those filters to close the gap to detect hate speech in the chat better. Better late than never. 🦑 Go Deeper Kids learning how to code during summer break is cool, right? Some parents disagree. Sascha Brodsky has the deep dive on the situation, which essentially boils down to wanting kids to spend less time on computers.     🎱 By the Numbers Where do they find the time? Data: TwitchTracker Considering how much time people spend on Twitch, the platform should really have its chat features nailed down. Kudos to streamers, though, who have consistently streamed ~70 million hours each month this year, which probably isn't easy when they have to worry about anonymous people online.     🔥 Today's Hot Deal This WD 6TB external hard drive is $109 on Newegg right now, thanks to a $20 discount and promo code 93XRS74, which knocks off another $20. Need a bunch of storage space? This is a hard offer to pass up. Don't Miss This Deal 🤓 Nerd Out "At least these shows can't get canceled too soon." —Rob LeFebvre, Senior News Editor We can't watch the fake shows and movies found in some of our favorite shows, but thanks to designer Lynn Fisher, we can at least scroll through Nestflix, a Netflix-style interface, and see them all. (Share on Twitter) 💎 You Know You Want It  3, 2, 1...action! Image: Logitech Dedicated Twitch streamers or those with a million Zoom meetings may want to check out Logitech's C922 Pro HD webcam. Full 1080p at 30fps or HD 720p at 60fps, no-drop audio, and it's small enough to set up and ignore? We're impressed, and for only $100, it seems like a no-brainer impulse buy. 🎥 Behind the Scenes Doritos? In my superhero show? Have you noticed way more product placement in the shows your favorite streaming services produce? Thank brand marketers, which have finally embraced the streaming world we now live in. For better or worse.     🗞 Extra! Extra! We've got you covered with the best in daily tech news! See the latest on our site or follow us on Google News. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Have something you'd like us to write about? We're always open for suggestions, too. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Tech Today newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here .   Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links. A Dotdash Brand 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005 2020 Dotdash • All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.   [View in Browser]