TikTok has exploded in popularity over the past few years, becoming one of the most widely used social media platforms. As of December 2022, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally (Source). People are drawn to TikTok’s fun, short-form videos and the ability to easily create and share engaging content. With so many users on TikTok, many people are interested in finding friends, family members, celebrities, creators, and other people they know or want to interact with on the platform. Searching for people on TikTok allows you to connect and keep up with others you care about or find new accounts that match your interests.
Searching by Username
The easiest way to find a specific TikTok user is to search for their username. Usernames are unique on TikTok, so searching a username will show an exact match for that account.
To search by username, tap the search bar at the top of the app and type in the full username of the account you want to find. Make sure to enter the exact username with correct spelling and capitalization. TikTok’s search will automatically try to show results for that username as you type.
Once you enter the full username and tap search, TikTok will show that user’s profile as the top result if the account exists. This allows you to quickly find and view any public TikTok profile if you know the username.
According to TikTok’s help guide, “To search for a specific user, enter their username in the search bar. Their profile will appear at the top of the results.”
So if you know a TikTok user’s unique username, searching it on TikTok is the most direct way to find their profile and view their videos.
Finding Friends from Other Platforms
TikTok allows you to find friends through your phone contacts or by connecting your Instagram or Facebook account (Linking another social media account). This is a great way to find people you already know who are on TikTok.
To link your Instagram account, go to your profile page in the TikTok app and tap “Edit Profile.” Then tap “Add Links” and select Instagram. You’ll need to log into your Instagram account to complete the link. Once your accounts are connected, you can find and follow your Instagram friends directly within TikTok (How To Link Your TikTok With Instagram).
Linking Facebook works the same way. Go to “Edit Profile,” tap “Add Links,” and login to Facebook. You can then find Facebook friends to follow on TikTok. Connecting other platforms is a quick way to see familiar faces on TikTok without having to search manually (How to Link Instagram to TikTok).
Hashtag and Sound Search
TikTok allows you to search by specific hashtags or sounds to find videos using them. This makes it easy to discover creators making content about topics you’re interested in. Simply search a hashtag or sound and TikTok will display results from across the platform.
For example, searching #fashion or a popular sound like “Day ‘n’ Nite” by Kid Cudi surfaces videos related to those keywords. You can scroll through the results to watch different creators’ takes on the same concepts. This is a great way to find people with shared interests or hobbies.
TikTok’s algorithm notes which hashtags and sounds you engage with to refine recommendations over time. So searching and interacting with certain hashtags can connect you to more niche communities within TikTok. According to Dash Hudson, some of the most popular hashtags right now include #fashion, #beauty, and #comedy. Staying up-to-date on trending tags is a good way to increase reach.
Overall, hashtag and sound search allows for highly-targeted content discovery based on your specific interests. It helps users find and connect with communities on TikTok that share their passions.
Looking at Liked Videos
One way to see who liked a video on TikTok is by going to that video and scrolling down to view the list of accounts that liked it. TikTok shows a preview of the first few accounts that liked the video. You can tap on “View all” to expand the list and see more accounts.
This allows you to discover new people that may have similar interests, since they liked the same video as you. You can click on any account in the likes list to visit their profile and follow them if you want to see more of their content.
However, there are some limitations. If the video creator has a private account or has limited their likes list privacy settings, you won’t be able to see who liked their video. You can only view the list of likes on videos that have public like settings.
So browsing likes on videos can be a great way to find new people to follow based on shared interests reflected in the videos you both liked. But the ability to see the full list depends on the privacy settings of the video and account.
Following Recommendations
TikTok suggests accounts to follow based on your interests and activity to provide customized profile recommendations. The app has an algorithm that tracks the types of videos you watch, accounts you interact with, and content you create to determine which new accounts you may want to follow. This allows TikTok to recommend accounts with similar interests or content styles as you.
For example, if you frequently watch cooking videos, you will likely see suggestions for other popular cooking creators or food brands. The more you engage with certain types of content, the better TikTok can tailor recommendations to your tastes. However, you can control these suggestions in your account privacy settings if desired.
The “Suggest your account to others” setting allows you to limit profile recommendations to only people who follow you or turn them off completely. You can also tap “Not Interested” on any suggestion to provide feedback to the algorithm. Following the recommendations can be an easy way to find new accounts to follow based on your activity.
Location Search
TikTok allows you to search for top videos in a specific location using the Discover feature. To search by location, tap the Discover icon on the bottom toolbar and select “Nearby.” You can then enter a city, landmark, or place to explore top videos and creators in that area.
This location search capability makes it easy to find localized content and connect with creators in your city or places you plan to visit. As TikTok notes, “Discover content that’s trending around you or in the places you care about.” (Source) By tapping into location-based content, you can get a pulse on what’s popular in different regions.
Searching Comments
You can search through the comments on TikTok videos to find specific creators and commenters talking about certain topics. This can be useful if you want to see who is commenting about a hashtag or subject across the platform.
To search comments, tap on the search bar at the top of the app and select “Comments” instead of “Videos” or “People.” You can then type in a keyword or phrase to pull up videos that have comments mentioning it.
This uncovers conversations and connections around niche interests or subjects. It allows you to find commenters you may want to follow who are actively discussing certain topics. The search works across all public videos on TikTok.
Limitations of TikTok Search
TikTok’s search capabilities are more limited compared to other social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. One major limitation is that basic keyword searches for usernames, names, or keywords are not possible on TikTok.
While you can search hashtags, sounds, and captions, TikTok does not allow simple searches to find a specific user or video. You cannot enter a username or keywords and get search results like you would on other sites.
According to an article on TikTok limits, this is likely an intentional design choice by TikTok to encourage discovery of new content rather than simply finding exactly what you search for.
Overall, TikTok’s advanced search features are not nearly as robust as competitors. The platform focuses more on its recommendation algorithm suggesting content based on your interests rather than enabling detailed searches.
Conclusion
TikTok offers users several ways to search for people and content on the platform. You can search by username to find specific people you already know. Connecting your contacts from Facebook or your phone allows you to find friends who are already using TikTok. Searching hashtags and sounds can help you discover new creators making content you’re interested in. Looking at the likes and followers of accounts you already follow can uncover new people to follow. TikTok also provides recommendations based on the content you engage with.
While TikTok has search functionality, it is designed more for discovering new content rather than tracking down specific people or videos. The search features are limited compared to a traditional search engine. There is no advanced search operator functionality. Search index coverage is also limited, so you may not be able to find older or more niche content. Overall, targeted searching is possible on TikTok but exhaustive hunting for specific items or people is more difficult compared to other platforms.
