A private TikTok account means the account holder has enabled privacy settings to restrict visibility of their profile and content. Private accounts only allow approved followers to view videos, likes, and other profile information. This gives users more control over their privacy and security on the platform. When an account is set to private, the entire community of TikTok creators are not able to view the private profile or content without approval. This allows users, especially younger teenagers, to avoid unwanted attention from strangers.
Viewing Insights on a Private Account
Despite having a private account, users are still able to see certain analytics regarding their profile on TikTok. One of these insight features that remains available even with a private profile is the ability to see how many people have viewed your profile over a given period of time.
TikTok allows users to enable profile view history in their privacy and safety settings. Once enabled, users can see which accounts have visited their profile in the last 7 days. This includes both followers and non-followers. The feature will show the usernames of accounts that have visited your profile.
According to TikTok’s own guidance, “Profile views are anonymized for accounts you don’t follow, so it will just show how many people viewed your profile — not specific users” (Source). So while followers’ views are identified, non-followers views remain anonymous.
The ability to see profile view analytics remains available even if you switch your account to private. This allows private account holders to still gain some helpful insight into how their profile is being discovered and engaged with by the TikTok community.
Who Can View a Private Profile
When you set your TikTok profile to private, only certain people are allowed to view your profile and videos. Here are the people who can view a private TikTok profile:
- Followers – Any user who is currently following you can view your private profile. They will retain access even after your profile is made private.
- People you approve – You can manually approve non-followers to view your private profile. These users will be able to see your profile until you remove access.
- Contacts – If a non-follower has your phone number saved in their device’s contacts, they may be able to find and request to follow you. If approved, they can view your private profile.
In summary, making your TikTok account private limits visibility to only your followers and approved users. It prevents random non-followers from accessing your profile and videos.
Seeing Followers Who Viewed
On a private TikTok account, you can see which of your followers have viewed your profile. To enable this feature, go to your profile and tap the three dots in the top right corner. Select “Settings and privacy” then “Privacy”. Turn on “Profile view history” and you will now be able to see any followers who have visited your profile.
When a follower views your private profile, you will get a notification saying “User viewed your profile”. Tap on the notification to see a list of all your followers who have recently looked at your profile. This allows you to keep track of followers who are engaging with your private account.
However, turning on profile view history means your followers will also get notifications when you visit their profiles. So enabling this lets you see followers who viewed your private profile, but it also lets them see when you view theirs.
Seeing Non-Followers Who Viewed
If your TikTok account is private, you won’t be able to see when non-followers view your profile. The profile view history feature only shows you followers who have visited your profile. Unlike public accounts, private accounts do not allow non-followers to see any of your content or access your profile page.
TikTok designed this limitation on private accounts for privacy and security reasons. Allowing non-followers to view private profiles could potentially expose your information to unwanted attention. By restricting the profile view history to followers only, TikTok helps protect your privacy as a private account holder.
So if you have viewers that you don’t follow back or recognize in your profile view history, it means they also follow you. TikTok does not provide any way for private accounts to detect views by non-followers. The only followers you will see are those who you have approved to follow you back.
Using a Second Account
One way to view a private TikTok profile is by using a second TikTok account. If you add your second account as a follower to the private profile, you’ll be able to view that profile when logged into the second account (Source). This can be a useful workaround if you want to discreetly view someone’s private videos without them knowing.
To do this, first create a second TikTok account if you don’t already have one. Make sure you use a different email and phone number than your main account. Once the new account is set up, search for the private profile you want to view and tap the “Follow” button. The owner of the private account will have to approve your follow request before you can view their content while logged into the secondary account. You can then easily switch between your two accounts in the app to view both public and private profiles.
Using a second account is one of the only guaranteed ways to view private TikTok profiles, as long as the owner approves your follow request. However, it does require maintaining two separate accounts just for this purpose. So it may be most practical if you already have multiple TikTok accounts for different purposes.
TikTok Viewer Sites
Some websites claim to allow anyone to view private TikTok profiles. However, it’s important to exercise caution with these third-party TikTok viewer sites. While some may work temporarily, using them violates TikTok’s terms of service and can put your account at risk. TikTok actively works to shut down services that allow accessing private profile information without consent.
Additionally, many TikTok viewer sites require you to complete questionable surveys or download suspicious software, which could compromise your security or expose your data. Beware of sites asking for your login credentials, as they may steal your account. In general, it’s safest to avoid these third-party viewers altogether.
Rather than using an outside site, the best way to see who viewed your private TikTok profile is through TikTok’s own analytics features. You maintain full control and privacy without violating policies. If you need further help understanding your viewing insights, contact TikTok support for official assistance.
Making Your Profile Public
Although TikTok profiles are private by default, users have the option to make their profile public at any time. This will allow anyone to view your profile and all your public videos without needing to follow you or request access.
To make your TikTok profile public:
- Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right.
- Tap on the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Settings and privacy”.
- Tap on “Privacy”.
- Toggle the switch next to “Private account” to turn it off.
Once you toggle your account to public, anyone will be able to view your profile without restrictions. Keep in mind you can easily switch back to a private account at any time if you change your mind.
Some users make their account temporarily public to troubleshoot viewing issues or see a content preview as a non-follower. Just remember to switch it back to private if you only intend for it to be public temporarily.
Why TikTok Limits Views
TikTok places limits on view insights to protect user privacy. According to TikTok’s support page, turning off profile view history means other users will not be able see if you viewed their profile. This limit is in place for accounts with over 5,000 followers. TikTok enacted this policy to give creators, especially younger users, greater control over their online privacy and safety.
As stated in TikTok’s teen privacy settings, accounts for younger users are private by default. TikTok aims to minimize data collection and sharing for these users. Profile view insights could reveal private information about a young user’s interests, relationships, location, and more. By limiting view histories, TikTok empowers users to curate their online presence and decide what to share.
While some users want open view counts to gauge their growth, TikTok prioritizes user security and autonomy. The view limits uphold TikTok’s commitment to safeguarding user privacy, especially among younger demographics. This policy gives users greater control over their data and online footprint.
Conclusion
In summary, if you have a private TikTok account, you have limited ability to see who has viewed your profile. TikTok intentionally restricts profile views for private accounts to protect user privacy. The only way to see followers who viewed your private profile is if you have a secondary “finsta” account you can use to view your main account. Non-followers cannot see your private profile at all. Third-party sites claim to show you private profile viewers, but most don’t work or require you to make your profile public. Ultimately, if you want to know who is viewing your profile, you’ll either need a second account or have to make your profile public. But keeping your account private protects your privacy, which is often more important than monitoring profile views.
