TikTok is a popular short-form video social media app that allows users to create, share, and discover short videos. With over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, TikTok has quickly become one of the most used apps among Generation Z and young millennials (TikTok Statistics 2023).
On TikTok, users can browse through an endless stream of short videos covering a huge range of topics, from dance challenges to cooking tutorials to personal vlogs. With so many videos being shared on the platform, TikTok offers various ways for users to search and find videos that interest them, beyond just scrolling through their main feed.
Can You Search All of TikTok?
There is no universal search bar on TikTok that allows users to search all public videos across the entire platform. TikTok does not provide a way to browse or search the billions of videos on their app all at once.
However, there are some limited ways to search more broadly across TikTok beyond just a single user’s profile or page. While there is no “global search” feature, you can search by hashtags, sounds, or use TikTok’s Discover page to find popular and trending videos. Third-party websites have also emerged that aggregate TikTok videos and allow searching across multiple profiles and hashtags.
According to one Reddit user, “I can’t find a way to search all TikTok license free or commercial licensed songs. I believe I really mostly saw it on sponsored posts. No way to see all songs used.” This highlights the lack of a universal search function on TikTok. Users cannot easily browse all videos or music across the platform.
Search Within a Profile
To search the videos someone has posted on their TikTok profile, you can use the search bar when viewing their profile page. To access this feature:
- Go to the profile of the TikTok user you want to search.
- Tap the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of their profile page. This opens up a search bar.
- Type in keywords related to what you want to find in that user’s posted videos.
This will bring up results showing only videos from that specific user containing those keywords. It allows you to easily comb through a particular user’s content and find videos on topics you’re interested in.
The search feature is available both on the TikTok mobile app when viewing someone’s profile as well as on the web version of TikTok by accessing a user’s profile page on a desktop browser.
Finding Videos Through Hashtags
Hashtags are key to searching and discovering content on TikTok. Users add relevant hashtags to their videos so that they show up when people search for those tags. By browsing or searching hashtags, you can find TikTok videos on any topic.
To search hashtags, tap the magnifying glass icon on the TikTok homepage. Type in a hashtag you want to explore. The results will show the top videos using that hashtag. You can also click on the hashtag from any video caption to see other videos with the same tag. The more popular a hashtag is, the more videos you’ll find for it.
You can get very specific by searching long multi-word hashtags like #TikTokDanceTutorial or broad topics like #Food. Exploring hashtags is a great way to go down the “TikTok rabbit hole” and discover new content and creators that match your interests. It’s one of the main ways people find videos beyond just their For You feed recommendations.
Using Sounds to Search
One way to search for videos on TikTok is by using the sounds in the videos. Every video on TikTok has an associated sound or music clip. You can search for videos that used a specific sound to find other videos using that same sound.
To find trending sounds that are popular on TikTok, tap the discover icon on the bottom toolbar and select “Sounds” from the menu. This will show you a list of the top trending sounds across TikTok. You can tap on any sound to view a feed of videos using that sound.
You can also search for a specific sound by tapping the search icon and selecting “Sounds” from the menu. Type in keywords for the sound or song you want to find. For example, searching for “Oh No” will show the viral TikTok sound of the same name. Tapping into a sound from the search results will again show you a feed of videos using that sound.
Using sounds is a great way to explore different memes and viral trends happening on TikTok. Since so many users recreate videos using the same sounds, searching by sound allows you to quickly find a whole genre of videos centered around specific music clips or audio.
The Discover Page
The Discover page on TikTok surfaces videos based on your interests and what you have previously liked or engaged with. It uses an algorithm to recommend content to each user individually. The more a user interacts with certain types of videos, the better the algorithm gets at suggesting new videos in those categories.
When you open the Discover page, you will see tabs for “For You” and “Following.” The For You feed curates an endless stream of videos based on your unique viewing history and engagement. TikTok’s algorithm analyzes the hashtags, sounds, captions, and everything else about the videos you watch to refine its recommendations.
The Following feed shows the latest videos from the creators and accounts you actively follow. So the Discover page provides a mix of familiar content from your favorites as well as fresh, personalized recommendations.
Overall, the Discover page surfaces content to match your tastes. The smart recommendation algorithm helps users discover new videos and creators that align with their interests.
Searching Text in Videos
One way to find specific TikTok videos is by searching for text that appears in the videos. In August 2022, TikTok rolled out a new text search feature that allows users to search for words and phrases spoken in videos.
To use TikTok’s text search, open the TikTok app and tap the search bar at the top. Type in a word or phrase you want to find in videos. TikTok will return results of videos where that text appears spoken aloud. You can tap on a video to watch it and confirm the search term is spoken in the video.
The text search works by scanning TikTok videos and indexing text found within them. So you can search for unique phrases or quotes and find videos where they were said. This makes it easy to track down videos you vaguely remember if you can recall a specific line.
Keep in mind that the text search feature is still rolling out, so it may not work for every word or phrase yet. But the capabilities are improving over time as TikTok indexes more video content. Text searching provides an easy way to find memorable and specific moments captured on TikTok.
Third-Party Search Tools
While TikTok’s built-in search functions allow you to find some content and profiles, there are limitations to what you can discover through the app itself. This is where third-party TikTok search engines come in. Sites like TikTok Searcher, TookTools, and Search4Hashtags index TikTok content and allow for more advanced search capabilities.
With third-party search engines, you can search by keywords within video titles, captions, comments, hashtags, sounds, and more. Some even allow searching text within the video itself. You can filter by video length, number of views, shares, likes, or comments. However, these sites rely on publicly available data, so they won’t surface private or deleted videos. Their search capabilities are still more limited than what TikTok itself can show you internally. Use third-party search engines to augment TikTok’s built-in discovery options, but understand their constraints.
Parental Controls
TikTok offers a number of parental control options that allow parents to restrict and monitor their child’s TikTok activity. Parents can enable Restricted Mode, which limits the appearance of potentially inappropriate content in the child’s feed. They can also restrict search to limit what types of content and hashtags a child can search for. Additionally, parents can link their own TikTok account to their child’s and set screen time limits, restrict messaging, and turn off comments.
One of the more powerful parental control tools on TikTok is called Family Pairing. This allows a parent to link their TikTok account to their child’s account. From there, they can do things like:
- Restrict access to search and discovery features
- Limit who can view, comment on, or react to their child’s videos
- Disable direct messaging
- Set daily screen time limits
- Restrict access to certain content categories
Family Pairing gives parents visibility into their child’s TikTok activity while also letting them tailor restrictions as needed. It provides a safer and more controlled TikTok experience for younger users.
For more details on TikTok’s family safety tools, parents can visit the Family Safety Center.
Conclusion
There are several ways to search for videos on TikTok beyond just scrolling through your main feed. You can search within a specific user’s profile to find their old videos. Using hashtags is one of the best ways to find videos on topics you’re interested in. TikTok’s Discover page recommends content based on your interests and interactions. You can also search for videos using specific sounds or music. While TikTok doesn’t allow text search in videos, some third-party sites enable this. Parents can use TikTok’s family safety mode and digital wellbeing controls to restrict certain types of content.
In summary, TikTok provides robust tools for finding videos based on hashtags, sounds, users, interests, and recommendations. While you can’t directly search all video text, you can discover plenty of relevant content. Use hashtags, the Discover page, and third-party sites as needed. Enable TikTok’s parental controls if necessary. With these tips, you can effectively search through the vast amount of videos on TikTok to find relevant, entertaining content.
