TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion active users as of 2021. In fact, TikTok was the most downloaded app of 2022 with more than 300 million downloads globally (https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-stats/). With such a massive user base constantly creating and engaging with content, many wonder just how private their activity is on TikTok. One common question is whether others can see your liked videos.
What Are Liked Videos?
On TikTok, users can show appreciation and support for videos by tapping the heart icon to “like” them (source). Liking a video is TikTok’s version of Facebook’s reactions or Twitter’s retweets. When you like a video, the creator is notified that you enjoyed their content. Likes are an important metric that content creators use to measure engagement and gauge which types of videos resonate most with their audience.
Liking a TikTok video simply means you appreciated the content and want the creator to know. It’s a quick and easy way to validate creators and encourage them to make more videos you enjoy. Likes don’t automatically share or repost the video anywhere else. They simply show the creator that you “hearted” their content.
Private Likes
By default, the videos you like on TikTok are kept private and hidden from your profile. This means other users cannot see which videos you have liked unless you specifically choose to make them public. According to TikTok’s Help Center, “Your liked videos are hidden from your profile by default when you create an account.”
The liked videos feed is only visible to you when the setting is on “Only me.” This ensures your likes remain anonymous and protects your privacy if you do not wish to share that information with others. TikTok starts all new accounts with liked videos set to private to give users control over what they share.
As explained in Mashable, “To make your liked videos private, make sure the ‘Only me’ option is selected.” This is the default setting, so you do not have to change any settings to keep your likes private.
Making Likes Public
To make your likes on TikTok public, open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner. Then tap on the three horizontal lines icon in the top right corner to access Settings. Under “Privacy”, tap on “Liked videos” and you will see options to make your likes visible to “Everyone”, “Followers”, or “Only me” (default). To make your likes public, select the “Everyone” option. This will allow any user to see all the videos you have liked on TikTok (source).
If you have a public TikTok account, making your likes public means that all users will be able to see the videos you have liked on your profile. If your account is private, only your approved followers will be able to see your liked videos if you choose the “Followers” option (source). So be aware that changing this setting makes your liking activity visible to many more users.
Who Can See Public Likes
If you have your likes set to public, then anyone who visits your profile can see all of the videos you have liked on TikTok. This includes people who follow you as well as those who don’t. When your likes are public, the videos you’ve liked will be viewable on the “Liked” tab of your TikTok profile for all users.
Having public likes means total strangers can browse through all of the content you have engaged with by tapping that Liked tab. They don’t have to follow you or have any connection to your profile to see your liked videos. Essentially all TikTok users would have access if your likes are public.
According to TikTok’s support articles, the default setting for new users is to have likes be public. So you may want to check your settings if you prefer likes remain private.
Liked Videos on Profile
An important thing to note about public likes on TikTok is that they don’t show up on your own profile. Even if you have your likes set to public, the videos you’ve liked will not appear on your profile for others to see.
This means that while others can potentially see the videos you’ve liked by visiting your likes page, those liked videos will not be visible or featured anywhere on your actual profile. So you don’t have to worry about videos you’ve liked appearing directly on your profile even when your likes are public.
The only videos that will show up on your TikTok profile are videos you’ve posted yourself. Liked videos will not be aggregated or displayed on your profile.
Finding Others’ Liked Videos
When you visit another user’s profile on TikTok, you can scroll through their feed to try and find videos they’ve liked. Any video in their feed that has a heart icon below it is a video they have liked. However, this only works if that user’s likes are set to public.
If someone has set their likes to private in their settings, you will not be able to see the videos they have liked, even by scrolling through their feed. Their liked videos will not display the heart icon. According to sources, “If a user has set their liked videos to private, only they can see them.”
There is no way around this privacy setting. You cannot view a private user’s liked videos unless they choose to make them public. Some users find this restrictive, but it is a purposeful design choice by TikTok to give users more control over their privacy.
Pros and Cons
Weighing the pros and cons of having a public like list on TikTok can help you decide if you want your likes to be visible to other users. One of the main benefits of a public like list is showing what types of content you enjoy on the platform. This can help connect you with other users that share your interests and likes [1]. For content creators, showing your likes and appreciation for others can potentially drive more engagement, likes, and followers to your own account [2].
However, there are also downsides to consider. If you like sensitive or private content, making your likes public could potentially open you up to embarrassment or uncomfortable situations if friends, family, employers, etc. see them. There are also risks related to privacy and data tracking the more information you openly share on the platform [3]. Some users also buy fake likes, so having a public like list could misrepresent your interests if it includes inauthentic activity.
Overall, the choice depends on your comfort level with sharing your interactions on TikTok and if you feel the benefits outweigh potential risks. There are good arguments on both sides to consider.
Other Privacy Concerns
There are a few additional TikTok privacy concerns that users should be aware of. For example, TikTok has been criticized for the amount of data it collects from users, especially younger users. This includes collecting device information, location data, search history, messages, and more. There are concerns that this data could be used to target ads or shared with the Chinese government, as TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is based in China.
Another issue is around content moderation. TikTok has been accused of censorship and suppressing content that is critical of China. The platform also faces criticism for not doing enough to protect younger users from inappropriate content.
In summary, while likes may be private by default, users should still be cautious and utilize privacy settings to control what data TikTok can access.
Conclusion
In summary, whether someone can see the videos you’ve liked on TikTok depends on your privacy settings. By default, your likes are private and only visible to you. However, you can choose to make your likes public, allowing anyone who visits your profile to see the videos you’ve liked.
Making your likes public helps you connect with other users who have similar interests and find more content tailored to your tastes. However, it also exposes more of your viewing habits and interests to others. Setting your likes to private is the safer option if you’re concerned about privacy.
To change your like privacy settings on TikTok, go to your profile, tap the three-dot menu, choose “Privacy and safety” and toggle “Show user’s liked videos” on or off. Overall, TikTok gives you flexibility to show or hide your liked videos depending on your personal preferences.
