Case study · Cornell Tech · 2024 → 2026

I proposed it in 2024. TikTok shipped something similar.

In early 2024, lawmakers and parents were pushing to get teens off TikTok. I audited TikTok’s parental controls to see if they could solve that instead. Starting in 2025, TikTok shipped similar fixes.

Role: UX Designer
When: Spring 2024, revisited Oct 2026
Product: TikTok Family Pairing (parental controls)
Tools: Figma

My concept · 2024

What TikTok shipped · 2026

Spring 2024I proposed keyword bundles and teen appeals. Guardians could only filter one word at a time.
2025TikTok shipped AI keyword filters that catch related words, plus the first teen requests to parents.
By 2026Family Pairing has keyword categories. Teen appeals for content still don’t exist.

The problem

Lawmakers and parents wanted teens off TikTok

Mar 2023
Utah becomes the first state to require parental consent for teens on social media.
CS Monitor
Jan 2024
The Senate grills TikTok’s CEO and other tech leaders on child safety.
Hearing transcript
Mar 2024
Florida bans social media accounts for kids under 14; 14–15 need a parent’s OK.
Office of the Governor
Mar 2024
50% of US parents say banning TikTok would make kids safer. 86% back parental-permission laws.
Security.org, 996 parents

“Why is it TikTok allowing children to be exploited into performing commercialized sex act?”Sen. Dick Durbin to TikTok’s CEO · Jan 31, 2024

“I personally don’t want him to use TikTok this early.”Alex, mom of a 3-month-old, already planning to keep him off TikTok until 15 · my interview

63%Of US teens use TikTok anyway

58%Use it every day

17%Say they’re on it “almost constantly”

Source: Pew Research Center, 1,453 US teens ages 13–17, fall 2023

Problem statement

Bans don’t match how teens actually live. Parents need controls they trust, but the tool built for that, Family Pairing, took too much effort to use and gave teens no voice.

How might we give parents real control, without cutting teens out?

01 · The audit

I signed up as a 12- and a 15-year-old

TikTok is rated 12+ and gives each age group a different app. I made test accounts to see each one firsthand.

Under 13

Watch only. A family-friendly feed. No posting, searching or messaging.

13 – 17

Search and interact, within limits a linked guardian can set. No LIVE hosting or shopping.

18+

Everything, including becoming a guardian through Family Pairing.

01 · The audit

The tool existed. It just didn’t scale.

Family Pairing lets a guardian filter video keywords out of a teen’s feed. Here’s that flow as it was in spring 2024:

1Open the teen’s content preferences
2Tap Filter video keywords
3Tap Add keyword
4Type one word, pick feeds, save
5That word is filtered
6Repeat for every word

Works

Adding and removing a keyword is simple.
Each word can be filtered from For You, Following, or both.

Breaks

One word at a time. Covering a whole topic takes dozens of entries, and parents won’t think of every word.
Teens have no voice. They get restrictions with no way to push back on ones that feel unfair.

02 · What I proposed

Two questions, six ideas, two picks

How might we make filtering faster and more complete for guardians?

Bulk entry, comma-separated
Suggested keywords from trending safety topics
Keyword bundles by category Picked

How might we let teens dispute limits they find unfair?

In-app chat with their guardian
A second guardian who votes on disputes
A structured appeal process Picked

02 · What I proposed

Three flows, prototyped in Figma

Add keywords screen with suggested keyword bundles

Filter list now showing a whole bundle and a single keyword

Feature 1 · For guardians

Keyword bundles

1 tapinstead of one entry per word

Ready-made categories like “Explicit Language” or “Adult Content” filter a whole topic at once.
Fully editable: add or remove words so each bundle fits the family’s values.
Bundles and single keywords live in the same list, so nothing new to learn.

Appeal types: see content, message others, follow accounts, extra screen time

Appeal form with one filtered topic selected

Feature 2 · For teens

Appeal a restriction

Teens pick an appeal type: see a topic, more screen time, messaging, following.
They choose exactly what to unlock, like “Astrology”, and explain why.
The appeal goes straight to their linked guardian.

Guardian's appeal inbox with two pending appeals

Appeal granted for the Following feed only

Feature 2 · For guardians

Review, then grant or dismiss

Every appeal shows the teen’s reason plus a risk note for the topic.
Partial grants: allow a topic in Following but keep it out of For You.
Dismissals come with feedback, so the “no” is explained.

03 · What TikTok shipped

TikTok shipped similar fixes. Here’s what they got right.

Starting in 2025, TikTok rolled out changes that hit the same problem from several angles. Each one makes Family Pairing easier to trust, which is exactly what parents were asking for.

Live by 2026 · Family Pairing

Keyword categories

Parents filter a whole topic, like aggression or romantic themes, in one tap.

Solves: one word at a time. The closest match to my bundles.

Jun 2025 · All users

AI keyword filters

Filtering one word also catches related ones, and bulk entry is on the way.

Solves: parents can’t think of every word.

Mar 2025 · Family Pairing

Time Away + extra-time requests

Parents block set hours; teens can ask for more time, and parents decide.

Solves: first time teens get a voice.

2025 · Family Pairing

More visibility for parents

See who a teen follows and blocks, and which topics shape their feed.

Solves: parents can’t trust what they can’t see.

Jul 2025 · Europe first

Block accounts, with unblock requests

Parents block specific accounts; teens can ask to unblock.

Solves: targeted limits, with a way to ask.

Jul 2025 · Global

Report alerts

When teens report a video, they can alert a parent.

Solves: teens pull parents in, on their own terms.

Sources: TikTok Newsroom, Mar 2025 and Jul 2025; TechCrunch, Jun 2025; keyword categories checked from a guardian account, Oct 2026.

Side by side

My 2024 designWhat TikTok shipped

Filter by categoryKeyword bundles, words visible and editableKeyword categories: 4 presets

Which feedsFor You and/or FollowingFor You

Teen can askAppeal any limit: topics, time, messaging, followsExtra time, and unblocking an account

04 · What I’d still push for

Why teens should be able to appeal

TikTok shipped the filtering half of my idea, and its 2025 updates gave teens their first ways to ask. But teens still can’t question a content filter, and that’s where unexplained limits feel most arbitrary.

Fewer workarounds

A visible way to ask gives teens an option besides unlinking or making a second account.

Conversations, not bans

Every appeal carries a reason, so a parent’s yes or no starts a conversation instead of ending one.

Signal for tuning filters

Appeal data shows which categories feel unfair, so TikTok can refine its presets with real evidence.

How I’d measure it

Run as an A/B test: paired families with the new flows vs. a holdout on today’s app.

Parents trust TikTok more

% of parents comfortable with their teen on TikTok, surveyed before and after launch
Family Pairing setup rate among parents who start it

Filtering gets easier

% of guardians using a bundle within 7 days of pairing
Time to set up a first filter, vs. one word at a time
Topics covered per guardian, before vs. after

Appeals stay healthy

Appeals per teen per month, and grant rate (full or partial)
Median time for a guardian to respond

Teens stay paired

Unlink rate within 30 days of a denied appeal, vs. holdout
% of teens who say their limits feel fair

Next step: test both flows with parents and their teens before building.

Want the full walkthrough?

I’m happy to walk through the research, trade-offs and prototype in a conversation.

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