What Are Likes on TikTok?
On TikTok, likes are represented by a heart icon and are used to show approval or enjoyment of a video. When viewing a video, users can tap the heart icon to like the content. Likes are an important metric on TikTok as they help gauge how engaging a video is with viewers.
Likes indicate the popularity and approval of a video. The more likes a video receives, the more it has resonated with viewers. A high number of likes signals that a video’s content connects with audiences and compels them to actively show their enjoyment. This level of engagement is key for creators looking to build an audience and get their videos seen by more users.
In addition to judging individual videos, the total number of likes on a creator’s profile provides insight into their overall influence and reach on TikTok. Profiles with high like counts tend to have an established loyal following. As such, the number of TikTok likes can be used to measure the success and standing of both videos and creators.
Default Like Counts on Videos
On TikTok, the number of likes on a video are publicly displayed by default. When you post a video, the like count will be shown directly under the video for all users to see. This allows people to get a quick gauge of how popular or engaging a video is.
TikTok displays like counts in real time. As more people tap the heart icon to like a video, the like count will continuously update to reflect the latest total. There is no option to hide or disable public like counts within the app settings.
According to TikTok’s support site, the number of likes is considered public information that all users can view. So if you post a video publicly, you should expect the like count to be visible to everyone by default.
Seeing Exact Like Counts
TikTok shows rounded like counts by default, displaying ranges instead of precise numbers once a video receives over 1,000 likes. For example, you may see “15.6K” instead of the exact 15,645 likes. This creates some ambiguity, but there are a few ways to view the specific like count on both your own videos and other users’ content.
To see the precise like count on your own TikTok videos, access your account’s analytics page in the Creator Portal. Here you can view detailed performance data on each video, including the exact number of likes. TikTok’s analytics provide creators with transparent metrics to evaluate their content.
For other users’ videos, you’ll need to use third-party websites or apps to see the exact like count. Services like TikSmap or TikTok Likes Viewer allow inputting a video URL to display its hidden analytics. However, TikTok may limit services that expose non-public data, so exact counts from third parties may not always be accurate.
While TikTok keeps some metrics private, the platform does aim for transparency with creators. Using TikTok’s analytics or limited third-party services can reveal precise like counts.
Likes on Comments
Unlike likes on videos, the number of likes on TikTok comments are publicly visible by default. When viewing a comment, you can see the total number of likes it has received next to the comment text. TikTok displays this like count on all comments across the platform.
There is no option to hide the like counts on comments. This allows users to see which comments are most popular or agreed with on a video. Comments with more likes are also prioritized and float to the top of the comments section, gaining more visibility. According to some users on Reddit, the purpose of comment likes is to boost engagement and push your comment higher [1].
While comment like counts are public, you cannot see exactly who liked a comment, only the total number of likes. TikTok does not provide a feature to view individual users who liked a comment. However, you may get notifications when specific users you follow like your comments.
Hidden Like Counts
One feature TikTok offers is the ability for creators to hide the like count on their videos. This allows creators to disable the public like counter that normally appears under each video. When the like count is hidden, viewers will see “Liked by username and others” instead of the specific number of likes.
There are a few reasons creators may choose to hide their like counts:
- To reduce social pressure and comparisons between videos. Viewers can’t see which videos are more “popular,” which removes some competitiveness.
- To encourage engagement based on content quality, not just because a video is already going viral and accumulating likes.
- To focus the audience on the video itself without distractions from like counts. This creates a more immersive viewing experience.
- To avoid disclosing actual viewership and engagement metrics for privacy or strategic reasons.
Overall, the hidden like count feature gives TikTok creators more control over their image and metrics transparency. It provides an option to cultivate engagement in new ways centered directly on the video content.
Seeing Who Liked a Video
There is no way to directly see who has liked a video on TikTok through the app or website. TikTok intentionally keeps likes private as a safety and privacy measure for its users. When you like a video, it is not shared anywhere public by default.
The creator of the video can see the total like count, as well as get notifications when new people like their content. But they have no way to view the specific users that liked their video.
TikTok also provides general analytics to creators about their audience demographics and interests. However, it does not disclose any data about individual users that interact with a video, including who has liked it.
Some third party apps claim they can reveal TikTok likes and viewers. However, TikTok’s terms of service prohibit scraping user data, so the reliability and legality of these apps are questionable.
Overall, the identity of users who like TikTok videos is intentionally kept private by the platform to protect user privacy.
Like Notifications
When someone likes your video on TikTok, you will get a notification for it. These like notifications can come in a few different forms:
- Push notifications – If you have push notifications enabled for TikTok in your device’s settings, you will get an alert sent to your phone whenever someone likes your video.
- In-app notifications – Within the TikTok app, the notifications tab will show you whenever you get new likes. You can tap on these to see details like who liked your video.
- Email notifications – TikTok can also send email notifications whenever your videos get new likes. You can enable or disable these in your account settings.
- Comment notifications – If someone likes your video and leaves a comment, you will get a notification for both the like and the comment.
Like notifications can be helpful to track how your videos are performing and engaging viewers. However, if you find them excessive, you can turn them off in your settings. You can also disable likes entirely on specific videos if you do not want notifications.
Overall, TikTok provides creators plenty of options to control if and when they are notified of new likes on their videos. Monitoring these notifications can be useful, but disabling them is easy if they become bothersome.
Likes and the FYP
Likes play an important role in determining what videos appear on a user’s For You Page (FYP) according to TikTok’s recommendation algorithm. The FYP is the main feed that shows a personalized set of videos for each user. TikTok’s algorithm analyzes each user’s interests and activity to determine which videos to show on their FYP.
When a video receives more likes, it’s a signal to the algorithm that the video is resonating with viewers. TikTok’s algorithm takes like counts into consideration when ranking and recommending videos. Videos that receive a high number of likes in a short period of time may get a boost to be shown to more users on their FYP.
According to TikTok, “Videos that receive more likes, comments, shares, and views in a short time period receive a boost in distribution” (https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/how-tiktok-recommends-videos-for-you). This indicates that liking videos helps them get promoted by the algorithm.
In addition to absolute like counts, the algorithm also analyzes engagement rates and patterns to identify viral videos. Videos that quickly accumulate high engagement in relation to their views may be flagged as rising in popularity. Overall, likes are a key signal that helps TikTok’s FYP algorithm identify relevant and engaging content to recommend to each user.
Buying Likes
Some users choose to purchase TikTok likes from third-party services as a way to increase engagement on their videos. Companies like InstaFollowers, SocialWick, and Trollishly offer packages where you can pay to have likes added to your videos. The likes come from real accounts, though the engagement is inorganic. Buying likes can help videos gain momentum on TikTok, but the practice is controversial and discouraged by many creators.
Likes vs Views – Which Is More Important on TikTok?
On TikTok, both likes and views play an important role in determining how widely your videos will be promoted. However, likes tend to be more directly tied to the algorithm than views. Here’s a comparison of the importance of each metric:
Likes show that viewers genuinely enjoyed and engaged with your video. The more likes a video receives, the more TikTok’s algorithm recognizes it as high-quality, relevant content that should be shown to more users. According to Reddit users, a higher like-to-view ratio can boost your visibility in the For You Page and recommendations [1].
Views simply measure how many times your video was watched. While important for measuring reach, views can be inflated through paid ads or shares. Views alone don’t guarantee your content resonated with viewers. According to Quora experts, likes have a much bigger impact on the algorithm and can increase the chances of going viral [2].
In summary, while both metrics are valuable, likes tend to more directly influence the discoverability of your videos on TikTok. Focusing on creating engaging content that gets high like rates for its views can be an effective strategy for growth.
