TikTok is a popular short-form video sharing app that allows users to create, share, and discover 15 to 60 second videos. The app uses an algorithm that learns users’ interests to recommend personalized content. Videos on TikTok cover a huge range of topics from dance and comedy to food and DIY.
One common question TikTok users have is whether the videos they view are private or if other users can see them. When you view someone’s TikTok video, it does not notify them or show up anywhere public. However, creators can see some aggregated data about their views and audience.
In this article, we will cover whether your views are private, view counts, view history, video vs page views, private accounts, live views, the viewers list, analytic data, and user settings related to views.
View Counts
When a TikTok video plays on someone’s device or app, it counts towards the video’s public view count. As more viewers watch a video, the view count will increase accordingly. The view count number appears under the username and video caption on TikTok. The view count increases even if the viewer only watches a few seconds of the video or replays it multiple times (1).
TikTok’s algorithm uses view counts and other engagement metrics to promote videos that are generating a lot of interest and interactions. Higher view counts signify the video is resonating with a broad audience and the TikTok algorithm then exposes the content to more users. Videos with rising view counts tend to appear in the “For You” page and explore feeds more often (2). So the more people who view a video, the more exposure and views it subsequently receives on TikTok.
View History
TikTok does record users’ viewing history and videos they have watched, but this information is not available publicly or shared with other users [1]. TikTok uses your viewing history and engagement to make personalized recommendations and show you content you may be interested in.
However, the videos you view and accounts you visit are not shared on your profile or made public to other users in any way. Your view history remains private to you. The only view data shown publicly is the view count on videos, but this does not list individual viewers. So you can rest assured that your viewing history and activity on TikTok remains private.
Video Views vs Page Views
There is an important difference between video views and page views on TikTok. Video views refer to the number of times a video has been watched. Each time someone watches a video, even if they replay it multiple times, it counts as a new view. Page views, on the other hand, refer to the number of times someone has visited the video’s page or profile. Page views do not affect the view count and are not made public to other users.
When someone lands on a video’s page, whether through searching, clicking a link, or tapping on the video or profile, that counts as a page view. But just visiting the page does not register as a video view. The video has to actually start playing for it to count as a view. So users can rack up many page views without increasing the video’s view count at all.
Page views are an analytic that content creators can access to see how many people visited a video post. But regular users cannot see page views, only public video view counts. So TikTok separates the two metrics – with only video views being public-facing and contributing to the popularity of a video.
Private Accounts
Making your TikTok account private limits the visibility of your content. Only your approved followers will be able to view your videos, likes, and comment history when your account is set to private (source: TikTok Help Center).
However, setting your videos to private does not stop the view count from increasing. When someone views your private video, it will still register as a view even if that person is not one of your approved followers (source: Quora).
While the view count may increase on private videos, your private view history remains just that – private. Only you can see who viewed your private videos from your analytics data (source: Reddit).
Live Views
When you go live on TikTok, the number of live viewers is displayed publicly in real-time. This lets the broadcaster see how many people are watching at any given moment.
However, TikTok does not show the host or other viewers the individual usernames of everyone watching the live video. The identities of live viewers are kept private as a default setting.
As explained in this Quora post, you can watch a TikTok live stream anonymously, without the broadcaster knowing specifically that you tuned in. While total live view counts are public, who those individual viewers are is not disclosed to protect user privacy.
Viewers List
TikTok does not have a viewers list feature that shows individual users who have viewed your profile or videos. When the “Profile view history” setting is enabled, you can see the total number of accounts that have visited your profile within the last 7 days, but no specific users or usernames are identified.
Some social media platforms like LinkedIn allow you to see a list of users who viewed your profile, but the TikTok app does not provide this feature. While you can enable profile view counts, the only information shown is the total views over a 7-day period. TikTok’s approach seems to prioritize user privacy and anonymity, as users can watch others’ content without having their activity tracked.
Overall, if you want to know if a specific friend or follower has viewed your TikTok profile or videos, there is no way to obtain that information. The profile view data is limited to aggregate numbers, so individual viewers remain anonymous.
Analytic Data
TikTok creators have access to a wide range of analytics and data about their videos through the Creator Portal. As explained on TikTok’s official creator page, creators can view metrics like total video views, average watch time, likes, comments, and more. These analytics provide valuable insights into which videos are performing well.
However, TikTok’s analytics do not provide creators with data on individual viewers or accounts that have watched their videos. As Hootsuite notes, TikTok analytics tools offer high-level data but no viewer-specific details. Creators can see total views and traffic sources, but not the individual users who viewed a video. So while creators have access to aggregated analytic data, they cannot see exactly who has watched their content.
User Settings
There are no TikTok user settings available to hide view counts or view history from other users. The app does not provide options for users to conceal when they view someone else’s profile or videos. Some users attempt workarounds, like using private browsing mode on their web browser when accessing TikTok in hopes it will not log their viewing activity. However, this does not prevent view counts from incrementing or view history from being tracked. TikTok’s design intention is to make profiles and user interactions public by default. The settings related to view counts and history are configured on TikTok’s backend infrastructure which users cannot adjust.
Summary
To quickly recap, while TikTok videos show public view counts, the individual people who watch your videos are not revealed unless you choose to make your account private. TikTok keeps a private record of every video a user views, but this view history is not available to anyone else. The only way to see if a specific person has watched your TikTok video is if you set your account to private, which shows a list of followers who have viewed your content.
In summary:
- TikTok view counts are public but individual viewers are not
- View history is private and kept by TikTok only