Is There A Separate TikTok Platform For Adults? Not Really

TikTok caused a bit of a stir in the online world back in 2022, when it announced what the media called “Adult TikTok.”

Was it a completely different app? Was it a protected section of the social media platform where age-verified users could access explicit TikTok content? Exactly what was “adult TikTok?”

As it turns out, the announcement didn’t herald anything truly groundbreaking.

2022’s changes only modified the app’s systems to create a clearer line between TikTok’s standard fare of dance challenges and fun content suitable for users of any age, and more mature TikTok videos appropriate only for adults 18 or older.

In short, “adult TikTok” wasn’t intended to give PornHub a run for its money. The goal was simply to protect younger TikTok users from seeing posts and Live shows that are created for those with grown-up sensibilities. And as a side benefit, the changes allow adults who don’t want to see mature content to easily opt out.

Here’s how it works.

What Is Adult TikTok?

It makes more sense to start by explaining what adult TikTok isn’t.

The posting of “nudity, pornography, and sexually explicit content” has always been against TikTok’s terms and conditions and Community Standards, and it remains forbidden today. The 2022 changes had nothing to do with changing the platform’s rules about permissible or forbidden categories of TikTok posts.

In fact, sexually suggestive and “artistic” video and music content that’s considered “mature” in nature has been available on the app since it launched in the late 2010s, and it remains there today. Moderators often make judgment calls about whether videos break the rules and should be taken down, but they’re working with the same guidelines that have existed for years.

The establishment of “adult TikTok” simply involved two major changes to the platform:

• Content Levels: The app added an option that allows content creators to label their videos as “Restricted (18 years and older).”
• Restricted Mode: The app created a hierarchy of TikTok accounts that’s primarily age-based.

The nuts and bolts of the new system are just as easy to understand.

• When a content creator or the automated TikTok algorithms determine that a video should only be seen by adult audiences, it’s marked as “restricted.” Creators running TikTok Live shows can also mark their streams “restricted.”
• Users between the ages of 13 and 16 are given a private TikTok account set to restricted mode when they sign up; they’re automatically prevented from viewing adult-oriented content.
• Users between 16 and 18 are given the same type of account as younger users, but they can change from a private to a public account if they choose. They still can’t view restricted content, however, unless a parent uses the Family Pairing feature to turn it on for their child.
• Users 18 and older automatically get a public account with restricted mode turned off, allowing them to see all of the videos uploaded to TikTok. They can change those settings at any time; turning restricted mode on stops all mature content from appearing on their feeds.

Bottom line: The system changes did not allow anyone to post or view porn (or porn-adjacent) material on TikTok. They only implemented a more rigorous system designed to prevent minors from seeing material designated “adult” in nature.

What Can You Actually See on Adult TikTok?

The above explanation primarily deals with the “how,” but not the “what,” of so-called adult TikTok.

Many readers are probably trying to understand exactly which types of mature content they can find on the app — so here’s a sample of the restricted material that’s acceptable for posting on TikTok.

• Sexualized (but not explicit) depictions of adults
• Suggestive dancing
• Intimate kissing
• “Artistic” partial nudity and sexual references
• Videos with mature themes
• Songs and comedy material with sexual references

As we said at the start, TikTok hasn’t entered into a competition with porn sites for “adult” viewing. The purpose of adult TikTok is solely to let mature users watch mature but non-explicit content, while shielding younger viewers from material that’s not appropriate for them.