TikTok has exploded in popularity over the last few years. In 2021, TikTok hit 1 billion monthly active users globally, cementing its status as one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. With so many people using TikTok every day, user profiles have become an important part of the TikTok experience. This has led many users to wonder – can people see if you look at their TikTok profile?
What Information Does TikTok Show You About Profile Views?
TikTok provides users with data on how many times their profile has been viewed total, but does not show who specifically viewed their profile. Users can view the total number of profile views for the last 7, 28, or 60 days in their analytics under the “Profile Views” section (1). This shows the aggregate number of views, but does not reveal the individual users that have visited your profile.
TikTok also allows you to turn on a “Profile View History” feature in your account settings (2). This keeps a private log of the accounts that have viewed your profile, visible only to you. However, enabling this will also add your account to the view history of profiles you visit. It does not allow you to secretly view others’ profiles.
So in summary, TikTok provides the total view count for your profile, and an optional private log of accounts that visited you if you enable your own view history tracking.
Can Individual Users See Who Viewed Their Profile?
The short answer is no. Individual TikTok users cannot see who specifically has viewed their profile. The app only shows users the total number of profile views they have received, but does not reveal the identities of those viewers.
There is a common myth among some TikTok users that the app allows you to see exactly who has visited your profile. However, this is not accurate. TikTok does not provide users access to a list of specific people who have viewed their profile, unlike some other social media platforms.
Some users believe that making their TikTok profile private allows them to see who has viewed it. This is also untrue. Having a private account only limits access to your profile, it does not enable any additional visibility into who has visited your page.
The profile view count shown on TikTok profiles represents the total number of times that profile has been opened. However, the identity of those viewers remains anonymous to regular users. The app does not collect or reveal any data linking specific visitors to individual profiles.
In summary, while TikTok does track profile views in the aggregate, it does not give users the ability to see exactly who has viewed their profile. The visibility into profile visitors is limited for privacy and security reasons.
Source: https://omgstreams.com/blog/can-tiktok-users-see-who-viewed-their-profile.html
Exceptions – Paid Advertising and Verified Accounts
One exception to the general rule that individual users cannot see who specifically views their profile is for paid advertising and verified accounts. When running paid ad campaigns on TikTok, advertisers have access to more detailed analytics about their content.
The TikTok Ads Manager provides data on impressions, reach, clicks, engagement rate, video views, and more for promoted posts (View Your Campaign Data | TikTok Ads Manager). This allows advertisers to see overall performance metrics, but does not show data on individual profile views.
Verified accounts (denoted by a blue checkmark badge) also have access to more analytics than regular users. In the TikTok Creator Portal, verified creators can view aggregate data on profile views, followers, likes, comments, and other engagement (Understanding your analytics | Creator Portal). However, they still cannot see who specifically looked at their profile.
So while paid and verified accounts on TikTok have more analytics available, even they do not get data on individual profile views. The platform keeps this information private for all user accounts.
Viewing Private Accounts
When an account is set to private on TikTok, only approved followers can view that account’s videos, likes, followers list, and any other content. Users who aren’t approved followers of a private account will only see limited profile information such as the account’s profile photo, username, and bio.
If you try to view a private account you don’t follow, you’ll see a message indicating the account is private. You won’t be able to watch any videos or see any other content until your follow request is approved by the account owner.
The only way to fully view a private TikTok account is by sending a follow request and getting approved. There are no settings, tricks, or third-party apps that let you bypass an account’s privacy settings without consent from the owner.
Even if you create a new account to follow a private profile, your request still needs to be accepted before you can see their content. TikTok’s privacy controls prevent unauthorized access to private accounts.
Using TikTok Anonymously
If you want to view TikTok profiles and videos without an account, the easiest way is to use your web browser’s incognito or private browsing mode. Both Google Chrome and Firefox have an incognito mode that allows you to browse without saving cookies or browsing history.
To enable incognito mode in Chrome, click the three dot menu in the top right and select “New incognito window.” In Firefox, go to File > New Private Window. When browsing in incognito mode, TikTok will not connect your activity to any previous account you’ve logged into.
You can search for profiles, hashtags, and videos as normal while in incognito mode. However, you won’t be able to like, comment, follow, or upload anything without logging in. You’ll remain completely anonymous to other users. Using incognito mode is the simplest way to view TikTok discreetly without an account.
According to this source, TikTok also allows browsing as a guest directly in the mobile app without logging in. However, guest browsing is more limited than using a private browser window.
Third-Party Analytics Apps
While TikTok’s built-in analytics don’t show who specifically is viewing your profile, there are some third-party apps that can provide more detailed analytics on profile views:
Keyhole1 is one popular analytics platform that lets you see aggregate data on profile visitors like top locations, demographics, and traffic sources. However, it doesn’t show individual users.
Socialinsider2 is another analytics tool that provides stats on profile views and impressions. It also helps analyze follower growth and engagement.
Tools like Analisa3 and TrendTok1 also give aggregate demographic data on who is viewing your profile.
While these tools provide more analytics than TikTok itself, none reveal the exact identity of individual profile visitors. They only show high-level demographic and geographic trends.
Best Practices for Profile Views
Here are some tips for TikTok profile owners to get more legitimate profile views organically:
- Use relevant hashtags in your TikTok bios and videos so your content shows up in searches. Popular hashtags can help attract real viewers who are interested in your niche. See this guide for hashtag best practices.
- Engage with your current audience by liking comments, duetting videos, and going live. This helps build authentic connections so your existing followers are more likely to check out your profile.
- Post consistently with high-quality content. The more great videos you have, the more reasons for new viewers to hit your profile and browse your uploads.
- Collaborate with similar creators to gain exposure to each other’s audiences. Do shoutout exchanges, song challenges together, etc.
- Promote your TikTok profile on other social platforms where you have an audience. Cross-promoting can drive interested followers from other sites.
- Run TikTok contests and giveaways to incentivize viewership and profile visits. Make sure giveaways follow TikTok’s contest policies.
- Ask viewers questions in your captions to encourage comments. This boosts engagement and makes your profile more lively.
Avoid using bots, fake views services, follow/unfollow techniques or other artificial tricks. Focus on producing engaging content and connecting with real viewers for lasting growth.
Summary
In summary, here’s what you need to know about who can see your TikTok profile views:
- Individual TikTok users cannot see who specifically is viewing their profile. TikTok only shows users the total number of profile views in aggregate.
- There are some exceptions for paid advertising accounts and verified accounts, who may have access to more analytics.
- Viewing private accounts is more restricted, but does not reveal individual profile viewers.
- Using TikTok anonymously prevents your views from being linked to your account.
- Third-party analytics apps claim to show more specific viewer data, but TikTok’s terms prohibit this.
- Best practices are to use caution viewing private accounts and avoid connecting your viewing history to your account if privacy is a concern.
In general, individual TikTok users can rest assured that their profile viewing activity is kept anonymous and aggregated by TikTok.
Sources
[1] TikTok. (2021). TikTok 101: How TikTok Works. Retrieved from https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-tiktok-works
[2] TikTok. (2022). How do I make my account private? Retrieved from https://support.tiktok.com/en/privacy-safety/account-privacy-settings/how-do-i-make-my-account-private
[3] Mueller, B. (2022). How to see who views your TikTok profile. Retrieved from https://www.techjunkie.com/see-who-views-tiktok-profile/
[4] Tabor, N. (2022). Who Can See Your Likes on TikTok? Retrieved from https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/verify/who-can-see-your-likes-on-tiktok-account-private-public-post-video/269-3b27f0e7-f3ae-4df1-9f22-a22daaf04738
