TikTok is a wildly popular short-form video app that allows users to create, share and discover videos. One feature that has generated interest among users is the ability to see who has viewed your TikTok profile. By default, profile views are public, meaning anyone can see who has visited their profile. However, TikTok does give users the option to turn off profile views and make their viewing history private. This leads many to wonder – if you turn off profile views, can people still see that you viewed their profile?
What Is Profile Views Off?
TikTok’s Profile Views feature allows users to see which accounts have viewed their profile. Turning off Profile Views essentially makes the user anonymous and prevents others from seeing that they viewed their profile on TikTok. When Profile Views is toggled off in the app’s Privacy settings, other users will not be notified or shown in their Profile Views list if that account views their profile. This provides more privacy and anonymity for users who don’t want others tracking their viewing activity.
According to TikTok’s support article, “You can turn on Profile view history in your settings to see which accounts on TikTok have viewed your profile.” https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/account-privacy-settings/tiktok-profile-visit-history
So when Profile Views is turned off in settings, users have more control over their anonymity and viewing privacy on the app.
Does Turning Off Profile Views Make You Invisible?
No, turning off profile views on TikTok does not make your profile completely invisible to other users. While turning off the profile view option means that you will not be able to see who has visited your profile, it does not prevent other people from viewing your profile if they find it through searches, hashtags, or if you come up on their For You feed.
With profile views off, people can still see and interact with your public content like normal. They just won’t show up in your list of profile views. So your profile and videos are not hidden or made private by turning this setting off.
As TikTok’s support page explains, “Turning off profile view history means you will not be able to see who has viewed your profile, and others would not be able to see that you’ve viewed theirs, but it does not make your account invisible.”
The main thing that changes is that reciprocal visibility of who is looking at whose profile gets removed when both people have it turned off. But your public content remains public. Keep in mind also that turning off profile views only applies to your main profile itself – people can still see if you’ve viewed content like their videos.
Can People Still See You Viewed Their Profile?
No, people will not be able to see that you viewed their profile if you have profile views turned off in your settings. When profile views are off, it makes your account completely invisible in terms of who can see that you viewed their profile.
This was tested by users who found that after turning off profile views, their friends could no longer see that they had viewed their profile. TikTok confirms this in their own help documentation, stating “Turning off profile view history means you will not be able to see who has viewed your profile, and others would not be able to see that you’ve viewed theirs.”
So you can rest assured that once you’ve turned off your profile views, your viewing activity is completely private. People will not get notifications or be able to see in any way that you’ve visited their profile, allowing you to browse anonymously.
When You Might Want Profile Views Off
There are some key reasons a TikTok user may want to turn off profile views for more privacy:
- Gives users more privacy – With profile views off, other users can’t see who has viewed your profile or when. This prevents people from tracking your viewing activity.
- Avoids unwanted attention – Some users get unwanted follows or messages after people see they viewed someone’s profile. Turning views off prevents this.
- Reduces social pressure – View counts can make some users feel self-conscious. Disabling views creates less pressure.
As this source explains, “More privacy is the number one reason most creators hide their TikTok profile views.” Disabling views gives users more control over their privacy.
Limits of Profile Views Off
While turning off profile views provides more privacy by hiding your identity, there are some limits to what it can do. The main one is that people can still see that their profile has been viewed – they just won’t know exactly who viewed it or how many views they have in total.
For example, if you view someone’s profile with your views turned off, their profile may show “1 view” or “100 views.” But your specific view won’t show up in their list of viewers and they have no way to confirm it was you.
So you do get more anonymity but the tradeoff is others can still see some activity happening on their profile. They just lack specifics on who is viewing them or the total view count when profile views are disabled.
According to TikTok’s support page, “Turning off profile view history means you will not be shown as a viewer on videos or profiles you visit.” This confirms the limitation – your identity is protected but some visibility remains.
How To Turn Off Profile Views
Here is a step-by-step guide to turning off profile views on TikTok:
1. Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner.
2. Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
3. Go to “Privacy and safety” and tap “Viewer settings for your profile.”
4. Under “Who can view your profile,” toggle the switch off next to “Allow others to see how many profile views you have.”
5. Toggle off “Allow others to see when you’ve viewed their profile.”
6. Tap “Save” in the upper right corner to apply the changes.
Once you toggle these settings off, other TikTok users will no longer be able to see your profile view count or know when you’ve viewed their profile. The changes take effect immediately after saving.
Turning off these profile view settings is a quick and easy way to gain more privacy control over who can see your activity on TikTok. It prevents people from tracking how often you visit profiles or knowing how popular your own profile is.
Other TikTok Privacy Settings
In addition to controlling your profile views, TikTok offers several other privacy settings to customize your experience:
You can make your account private so only approved followers can see your content. Go to Settings > Privacy > Private Account. This prevents random people from viewing your videos. (Source)
To limit messages to just people you follow back, go to Settings > Privacy > Who Can Send You Messages. Select “Friends” to only allow mutual followers to message you. (Source)
You can choose whether to allow likes, comments, stitches and duets on your individual videos. Go to the video, press Share and toggle these settings on/off. This gives you control over interactions for each post.
TikTok also lets you delete comments you don’t want on your videos. Press and hold a comment, then select Delete to remove it.
Overall, getting familiar with TikTok’s privacy controls allows you to customize your ideal experience on the app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Turning off profile views can lead to many questions. Here are answers to some of the most common ones:
Will people know I viewed their profile if my views are off?
No, if you have your profile views turned off, other users will not be able to see that you viewed their profile. You become invisible in terms of who can see your viewing activity (source: https://www.quora.com/If-I-turn-my-TikTok-profile-views-on-and-off-again-will-I-still-be-visible-to-the-people-I-viewed).
If I turn views on and off, will people still know I viewed them?
No, turning views on and off clears your previous viewing history. If you viewed someone with views on, then turned views off, they would no longer be able to see you in their visitors list (source: https://predis.ai/resources/turn-off-profile-views-on-tiktok/).
Can I see who viewed my profile with views off?
Unfortunately no. With your own profile views turned off, you lose the ability to see who has visited your profile. It goes both ways for full privacy (source: https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/account-privacy-settings/tiktok-profile-visit-history).
The Bottom Line
Turning off profile views on TikTok does not make you completely invisible. People can still see your profile and videos. They just won’t see that you specifically viewed their profile.
The main benefits of turning off profile views are:
- Other users can’t tell if you’re lurking on their profile or stalking their videos.
- Stops people from following you back just because they saw you viewed them.
- Provides more privacy over who can see your viewing activity.
However, your profile and content are still public. And people you directly interact with (like, comment, duet, etc.) will still be notified. Profile views off just hides your browsing history from others.
Overall, turning off profile views gives you more control over your visibility on TikTok. It’s a useful privacy setting if you want to lurk without leaving a trace. But it doesn’t make your account completely invisible or anonymous.
