TikTok has announced a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to display real-time Amber Alerts directly in users’ For You feeds across the United States.

This new feature will enable users to receive Amber Alerts in their For You feed if they are located within the designated search area when an alert is activated by law enforcement. According to a TikTok spokesperson, the platform uses device IP addresses to determine users’ locations.

The alerts will include essential details, such as the child’s picture, description, last known location, and other critical information that can aid in the search efforts, similar to standard Amber Alerts.

The nationwide rollout of Amber Alerts on TikTok follows a successful pilot program in Texas, where users viewed Amber Alerts over 20 million times, resulting in 2.5 million visits to NCMEC’s website between August and December 2024.

In addition to integrating Amber Alerts, TikTok will also provide advertising credits to NCMEC to amplify their messaging about missing children and youth safety information on the platform.

Given TikTok’s vast user base of teenagers, who may be more likely to notice in-app alerts than traditional notifications, the introduction of Amber Alerts on the platform is a logical move.

According to Gavin Portnoy, Vice President of Communications & Brand at NCMEC, “Every second counts when a child goes missing. By utilizing the reach and speed of a platform like TikTok, parents, caregivers, and communities across the country can become powerful advocates in the urgent effort to locate missing children.”

TikTok is not the first social media platform to integrate Amber Alerts. Facebook has been displaying Amber Alerts since 2016, and Instagram started doing so in 2022.