What Are TikTok Comments?
TikTok comments allow users to respond to and interact with TikTok videos posted by other users. Comments are displayed directly below the video and are a key part of engagement on the platform. Users can leave comments to give their reaction, provide feedback, ask questions, or have a conversation with the creator or other viewers.
Comments on TikTok serve several purposes:
- Allowing viewers to provide feedback and opinions on videos
- Building engagement and community around content
- Enabling conversations between creators and audience
- Helping videos get more visibility through engagement
- Letting creators interact with and respond to their audience
TikTok heavily emphasizes engagement through comments as a core part of the app experience. Comments and replies are designed to be easy and intuitive for users. Leaving comments is one of the main ways TikTok users can participate and connect with each other on the platform.
Source: https://blog.brandbastion.com/5-reasons-why-comments-matter-on-tiktok
Public vs Private TikTok Accounts
TikTok allows users to choose between having a public account or a private account. This setting controls who can view your profile and videos.
Public accounts on TikTok are visible to everyone by default. Any user on the platform can view your profile, see your videos, like and comment on your content without needing to follow you or be approved as a follower. Public accounts maximize visibility and make it easy to gain new followers organically.
In contrast, private accounts on TikTok require approval to view content. Only approved followers can see your private videos, likes, and profile. Private accounts offer more control over privacy and security. However, it can be harder to gain followers since users need approval first.
New TikTok accounts start out public. You can change the visibility setting anytime under account privacy controls. Consider your preferences for privacy and discoverability when choosing between a public or private account.
Who Can See Your Comments on Public Accounts
When your TikTok account is set to public, the comments you leave on other public accounts’ videos are visible to anyone. Your comments on public TikTok accounts can be seen by all users, even if they don’t follow you or the account you commented on.
This is because public accounts and their content, including video views, likes, and comments, are intended to be visible to all TikTok users by default. When your account is public, you are opting into public conversations and interactions on the platform.
So if you comment on a public TikTok video, any user who views that video can also see your comment. Your comments are essentially public information that anyone on TikTok can access.
The only way to make your comments private is to switch your TikTok account to private. Private accounts have restricted visibility, so your comments will only be seen by followers who you approve.
To summarize, any comments made by public accounts on public videos are completely public. TikTok does not have settings to individually privatize comments made by public profiles. So comment carefully on public accounts if you wish to control who sees your interactions.
Who Can See Your Comments on Private Accounts
When you have a private TikTok account, the visibility of your comments is restricted to only your approved followers. Users who are not following you will not be able to see any comments you make on other videos, even if those videos are public.
With a private account, you have full control over who can see your activity on TikTok. Your comments will remain invisible to anyone you have not approved to follow you. According to TikTok’s official support page, the comment privacy setting for private accounts is “Followers.”
This limited visibility gives you more privacy as a user. You can comfortably comment on posts knowing that strangers cannot view your comments unless you permit them to by approving their follow request. So if you want to restrict your comments to only people you know and trust, making your account private is the way to go.
Comment Privacy Settings
TikTok allows you to control who can comment on your posts through the app’s privacy settings. You have three options for who can comment:
- Everyone – All TikTok users can comment on your posts
- Friends – Only users you are connected with as friends on TikTok can comment
- No One – No users can comment on your posts
To adjust your comment privacy settings on TikTok:
- Go to your profile page
- Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner
- Select “Privacy and safety”
- Tap “Privacy settings”
- Under “Who can comment on your videos,” choose your desired option: Everyone, Friends, or No One
This setting allows you full control over who can comment on your TikTok posts. You can restrict comments to only people you know and trust, or turn off commenting entirely. This is useful for limiting unwanted, irrelevant, or inappropriate comments.
In addition to controlling who can comment, TikTok also gives you the ability to review and approve comments before they are posted. You can toggle this feature on or off in your privacy settings.
Deleting Comments
If you’ve left a comment on a video that you later regret or want to remove, you can delete it through the TikTok app or website. To delete your own comment on the mobile app, tap on the comment to bring up the options menu, then select ‘Delete’. On the web version, hover over your comment and click the trash icon next to it to remove it.
If you come across inappropriate, offensive, or spam comments left by others, you can report them to TikTok for review. Tap and hold on the comment, choose ‘Report’, and select the reason for reporting. TikTok’s moderation team will assess the comment and may remove it if it violates community guidelines. Reporting abusive comments helps keep TikTok a respectful platform for all users [1].
Deleting your own comments periodically or reporting inappropriate ones can help curate a positive environment in your TikTok comment section. Maintaining your online reputation on the platform requires monitoring what others post on your content as well.
Blocking Users from Commenting
If you want to prevent specific users from being able to comment on your TikTok posts, you can block them. This will stop them from commenting on your current and future posts.
To block a user from commenting:
- Go to their profile and tap the three dots icon in the upper right corner.
- Select “Block” from the menu.
- Confirm that you want to block the user.
Once blocked, the user will no longer be able to comment on any of your posts. Keep in mind they can still view your profile and posts if your account is public. The user will not be notified that you have blocked them.
If you change your mind later, you can always unblock the user to allow them to comment again. Just go to your privacy settings, select “Blocked accounts”, find the user, and tap “Unblock”.
Blocking individual users is the most direct way to stop specific people from interacting with you on TikTok through comments. It gives you control over your comment section.
TikTok Notifications
When someone comments on your TikTok posts, you’ll get a notification by default. TikTok sends push notifications to your phone whenever you get a new comment (Source: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/HOW-CAN-I-TURN-OFF-COMMENT-NOTIFICATIONS?lang=en). You’ll see the notification appear on your phone’s home screen.
TikTok also has in-app notifications. When you open the TikTok app, you’ll see a red notification dot on the comments tab if you’ve received any new comments. Tapping on it will show you all the recent comments.
The notifications allow you to monitor and respond to comments in real-time. However, if you find them distracting, you can turn off notifications for comments in your TikTok settings (Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@tiktokcommentingservice). This will stop push notifications being sent to your phone.
Comment Moderation
TikTok uses automated systems as well as human moderators to review comments for policy violations. Their main goal is to keep the platform safe and positive. Some key points on TikTok’s comment moderation practices:
TikTok automatically removes comments using keywords and phrases that violate community guidelines, like hate speech, harassment, nudity, etc. 1
In addition to automated filtering, TikTok has a team that manually reviews potentially abusive comments reported by users. Accounts that repeatedly post inappropriate comments may be banned. 2
Many users complain TikTok’s comment moderation is too aggressive and blocks non-offensive comments. The algorithms still require improvement to avoid false positives. 3
Users can report inappropriate comments they see by tapping the comment and selecting “Report.” Moderators will review these reports.
Overall, TikTok aims to create a positive environment through strict comment moderation, though some feel it’s overly restrictive. Users should report truly abusive comments but avoid spamming false reports.
Protecting Your Privacy
Here are some tips for managing the visibility of your comments on TikTok to help protect your privacy:
Turn on comment filters in your privacy settings. This will automatically filter comments containing keywords you want to avoid. You can choose from pre-set filters or create custom filters (source).
Make your account private. This limits your comments to only people you approve as followers, giving you more control over who interacts with you (source).
Turn off commenting permissions for individual videos. You can disable comments on a per-video basis if you don’t want any engagement on specific content.
Delete comments you don’t want to be public. You can remove any comments on your videos that you don’t want associated with your account.
Block unwanted commenters. Prevent specific users from interacting with any of your content by blocking them.
Make your account anonymous. Using a nickname and no profile photo gives you an added layer of privacy.
Be selective in what you share publicly. Avoid oversharing personal details or content you may later regret being so public.
