TikTok has announced the launch of nationwide Amber Alerts on its platform, in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The alerts, which will appear on users’ For You Pages, will send out information on missing children and are expected to reach more than 170 million Americans, according to TechCrunch.
When an alert is issued, affected users’ video feeds will be interrupted by a black Amber Alert screen displaying photos and identifying details of the missing child. Users will also have options to call 911 or access additional information via NCMEC’s website. Like existing phone and TV alerts, the notifications will be geographically targeted, ensuring they reach people in relevant areas.
TikTok first tested the Amber Alert feature in Texas last year. During the pilot phase, which ran from August to December, the alerts were viewed more than 20 million times and generated 2.5 million visits to NCMEC’s website.
Encouraged by these results, the platform is now rolling out the initiative nationwide as part of its broader efforts to combat child exploitation and abuse. This expansion builds on TikTok’s existing safety measures, which include community reporting tools and parental controls.
TikTok follows in the footsteps of Meta, which partnered with NCMEC in 2022 to introduce localized Amber Alerts on Instagram. At the time, NCMEC CEO Michelle DeLaune emphasized the importance of leveraging social media’s image-driven nature in missing child cases.
"What we know is that images are the number one critical tool for bringing kids home. By being able to distribute these pictures to individuals who are holding their phones, who are out there at the bank, sitting in traffic, at work, or at a store, they now have a piece of information that may lead to the recovery of a child," DeLaune explained.
Beyond integrating Amber Alerts, TikTok is also donating advertising credits to NCMEC to help expand its reach on the platform. Additionally, the company plans to enlist popular TikTok creators to raise awareness about missing children and amplify NCMEC’s message.
"Every second counts when a child goes missing," said Gavin Portnoy, NCMEC’s vice president of communications and brand.
"By harnessing the reach and speed of a platform like TikTok, parents, caregivers, and communities nationwide can become powerful advocates in the urgent effort to locate missing children."
