TikTok introduced Stories in January 2022, allowing users to share short videos and photos that disappear after 24 hours, similar to Instagram and Snapchat Stories. TikTok Stories appear in a horizontal scroll at the top of the app’s For You feed.
This article will provide an overview of how TikTok Stories work, including whether viewers can see who has watched someone’s Story, interacting with Stories, using screen recordings, analytics, private accounts, live Stories, secondary accounts, and stalking concerns.
Viewing TikTok Stories Anonymously
Unlike some other social media platforms, TikTok allows users to view stories anonymously. When someone views your TikTok story, you will not be notified or able to see who viewed it. TikTok stories auto-play as followers scroll through their feeds, but do not notify the creator that the story has been viewed.
Viewers remain completely anonymous unless they interact with the story in some way, such as commenting, sharing, reacting, or messaging the creator about it. Simply watching a TikTok story does not reveal the viewer’s identity to the creator in any way. This allows users to freely view stories without worrying about the creator knowing they’ve seen it.
According to SocialPilot.co, “TikTok does not list users who have viewed your stories like Instagram.” So creators have no way to tell if a specific user has viewed their story.1 TikTok stories operate differently than platforms like Instagram or Snapchat in this respect – views are completely anonymous.
Interacting with Stories
When viewers interact with TikTok Stories, it notifies the creator. Viewers can like, comment on, and share TikTok Stories. When they do any of these actions, the creator will be notified. This allows creators to see exactly who has engaged with their Story.
According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, “After that, you can see who has watched and interacted with your Story through likes and comments.” https://www.tiktok.com/creators/creator-portal/en-us/tiktok-content-strategy/tiktok-stories-what-it-is-and-how-to-use-it/
SocialChamp explains that “Unlike Instagram Stories, TikTok Stories allow users to publicly comment, view others’ comments, and even see a detailed list of Story viewers.” https://www.socialchamp.io/blog/tiktok-stories/
Using Screen Recording
One way viewers can see TikTok stories without the creator’s knowledge is by using screen recording software to record the story as they view it. While TikTok does not have any built-in mechanisms to detect or prevent screen recording of stories, this practice goes against TikTok’s community guidelines.
According to sources like EaseUS Recorder and Reddit users on r/TikTokHelp, TikTok currently does not send any notifications when someone screen records a video or story. So users can record TikTok stories without the creator receiving any notification.
However, TikTok’s community guidelines expressly prohibit using screen recording software to save others’ content without permission. So while technically possible, screen recording TikTok stories breaches TikTok’s policies. For privacy and ethical reasons, viewers should avoid secretly recording stories without the creator’s consent.
In summary, TikTok does not have any built-in detection or prevention methods for screen recording of stories. But users should refrain from this practice, even if the creator is unlikely to find out, as it violates platform guidelines.
TikTok Analytics for Creators
TikTok provides creators with analytics to view overall metrics for their stories, but does not show data on individual viewers. Creators can access analytics by going to their profile, tapping the three dots, selecting “Creator tools”, and choosing “Analytics”.
The TikTok analytics page shows overall metrics like total views, likes, comments, shares, and more for each story. However, it does not provide any data on which specific users watched or engaged with the story. There is no way for creators to see the usernames, profiles, or any other identifying information about individual viewers of a story through TikTok analytics.
As explained in the Creator Portal guide Understanding your analytics, TikTok analytics are designed to provide creators with “high-level insight” into how their content is performing overall, but user privacy is also a priority. So while creators can analyze trends and engagement rates, the data focuses on aggregate metrics rather than individual users.
Private Accounts
When a TikTok account is set to private, their videos, likes, followers, and following are hidden from people who don’t follow them. Private accounts can still view public accounts and content anonymously without the account owner being notified. According to TikTok’s support article, private account activity is not shown to creators in analytics or insights. So if someone with a private profile views your stories or live streams, you have no way of knowing through TikTok.
The anonymity of private accounts extends to all areas of the app. Your analytics and notifications will not reveal if a private account watched your videos, liked posts, followed you, or anything else. Essentially, private accounts can browse TikTok privately without their activity being detected. The only way to know if a private account interacted with your profile is if they intentionally make it public by commenting, duetting, etc. Otherwise, their activity is completely anonymous.
Live Stories
Live stories on TikTok notify the creator when someone is viewing the story in real-time. Unlike regular TikTok stories, live stories have an indicator showing the number of current viewers. Creators can see who viewed their live story in the viewer list, which appears next to the comments while the story is still live.
Live story views also show up separately in a creator’s TikTok analytics. This allows creators to track live story views and engagement independently from regular story views. According to TikTok’s official support page, the viewer list for live stories is visible to creators but not to other viewers.
Using a Secondary Account
One way to view TikTok stories anonymously is by using a secondary TikTok account. This allows you to view stories without the creator being notified. However, TikTok’s community guidelines prohibit maintaining multiple accounts for “misleading purposes.” Using a secondary account just to covertly view stories could be considered deceptive.
The best practice is to only maintain multiple accounts if you plan to use them for legitimate purposes, like separate business and personal profiles. As long as your accounts are used appropriately and transparently, having more than one should not cause issues. But creating dummy accounts specifically to lurk on stories anonymously could potentially prompt action by TikTok against those accounts.
Stalking Concerns
While viewing Stories anonymously can seem harmless, it opens the door to potential stalking and harassment issues. As reported, some users have raised concerns about being secretly watched by unwanted followers or ex-partners. Stalkers can anonymously keep tabs on someone’s location, activities, and social connections through Stories.
In response, TikTok has been working to improve safety features and give users more control. Creators can decide whether they want to allow anonymous viewers for their Stories. TikTok also removes accounts reported for harassment and provides tools to block or restrict unwanted followers. However, the potential for anonymous stalking remains an issue as long as viewing Stories anonymously is an option.
Conclusion
To conclude, when viewing regular TikTok stories, your username generally remains anonymous unless you interact with the story in some way, like commenting or sending a message. TikTok creators can see overall analytics on their stories, such as total views or likes, but not data on individual viewers. There are some exceptions – private accounts with a small number of followers may be able to tell if you viewed their story, and live stories show viewers. But in most cases, you can watch TikTok stories without the creator knowing, as views are designed to be anonymous. Just be mindful that taking screenshots or screen recordings can notify the creator. In summary, most TikTok story views are anonymous, but some limited interactions may reveal your identity to the creator.