Trying to find someone on TikTok but you don’t know their username? While it’s easiest to search for a TikTok user if you have their exact username, there are still several ways you can try to locate someone’s profile even if you only have limited information about them.
Search by Name
If you know the full name of the person you are trying to find, you can try searching for their name directly on TikTok. To do this:
- Open the TikTok app on your mobile device or go to TikTok.com.
- Tap the search bar at the top of the screen.
- Type in the full name of the person you are looking for.
- Tap the search icon.
This will pull up a list of TikTok profiles that match the name you searched. Look through the results for the person you are trying to find. Keep in mind there may be multiple people who share the same name, so you may need to look at profile photos or bios to determine if you have found the correct account.
Search by Phone Number or Email
If you have the phone number or email address associated with the person’s TikTok account, you may be able to locate their profile by searching with this information.
To search by phone number:
- Go to the TikTok search bar.
- Type in the person’s full phone number including the country code.
- Select their phone number when it pops up as an option.
To search by email:
- Go to the TikTok search bar.
- Type in the full email address associated with their TikTok account.
- Select the email when it appears as an option.
If the phone number or email is connected to their TikTok profile, this should bring up their account. However, keep in mind not everyone has an email or phone number attached to their TikTok account, so this method is not guaranteed to work.
Browse Suggested Accounts
TikTok’s “Suggested Users” section shows you accounts that TikTok thinks you may find interesting based on the content you view. If you have mutual friends or interests with the person you are searching for, their account may show up in your Suggested Users.
To browse suggested accounts:
- Go to your profile page.
- Tap “Suggested” under the “Following” tab.
- Browse through the list of suggested accounts.
Look through the profiles, photos, usernames, and bios to see if the account you are searching for appears there.
Look Through Friends’ Follower Lists
If you have friends or followers in common with the person you are trying to find, you may be able to locate the account you want by looking through mutual connections.
To try finding someone through friends:
- Go to the profile of a friend or follower you have in common with the person.
- Tap “Followers” under their profile photo.
- Browse the list of their followers.
- See if you can identify the account you are searching for.
You can also tap “Following” to browse who they are following. Repeat this process with multiple friends to expand your search.
Use Related Hashtags and Sounds
If you know of popular hashtags, songs, or sounds associated with the account you are looking for, searching through TikTok content tagged with these can help lead you to the person you want to find.
For example:
- If you know the account often uses a certain hashtag, search for that hashtag and look through videos using it.
- If you know songs or sounds they commonly use, search for the sound and watch videos with it.
- Check the profiles of creators who post related content and see if the account you want follows or interacts with them.
Using strategic searches through related content tags may help surface the account you want to locate.
Use Your Watch History
If you’ve viewed videos from the account you are searching for in the past, those videos may still be present in your TikTok watch history.
To check your watch history for an account:
- Tap the profile icon on the bottom right of the screen.
- Select “Watch History” next to your profile photo.
- Browse videos you have recently watched.
- See if any are from the account you want to find and tap on the video to go to the associated profile.
Your watch history can help reconnect you with accounts you viewed in the past but didn’t follow or interact with at the time.
Search Through Comments
If you recall seeing comments from the account on certain videos but don’t remember whose videos they were commenting on, you can browse through comments to try to relocate the profile.
To search comments:
- Think of types of videos the account may have commented on based on their interests or the community they are part of.
- Look through comments on relevant videos for the username you are searching for.
- When you find a comment that seems to be from the right account, tap on the username to go to the profile.
Comments can provide a trail to finding a profile if you have an idea of the type of content they engage with.
Ask Friends for Help
If your mutual connections know the person you are trying to find, reach out to them to ask if they can share the username with you or look through their own followers/following lists to help locate the account.
You can also ask them if they’ve noticed the account commenting on or engaging with any particular videos recently that you could look through for a possible comment trail.
Leveraging friends who run in the same social circles can give you extra help searching for a hard-to-find account.
Use Third-Party Lookup Tools
There are some third-party TikTok tools and websites that allow you to search for TikTok accounts in different ways.
Some third-party search options include:
- Searching by name
- Looking up associated Instagram or Twitter accounts
- Searching bios for keywords
- Searching video titles
While third-party tools expand search capabilities, be cautious about security and privacy when using external sites.
Contact TikTok Support
If you have absolutely no luck tracking down the account through any other means, you can try reaching out to TikTok directly for assistance in finding a specific user.
To request help finding an account:
- Go to TikTok’s Report Page at https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/feedback.
- Select “Report other issues” as your reason for reporting.
- Choose “Find contacts” as the category of your issue.
- Fill out the additional information about the account you are trying to find.
- Click submit.
TikTok may or may not be able to assist, but for hard-to-find accounts it is worth trying as a last resort. Just keep in mind this process will take time, so don’t expect instant results.
Don’t Give Up!
Searching for a TikTok account without a username can take some creativity and detective work, but it is possible with the right strategies. Using a combination of search tools, watch histories, comment browsing, asking around, and third-party lookup sites increases your chances of tracking down the profile you are looking for. Stay persistent and don’t give up on finding that elusive TikTok account!