A private account on TikTok means that only approved followers can view your profile and videos. When your account is set to private, your profile photo, videos, likes, and following lists will be hidden from anyone who doesn’t follow you.
There are a few reasons why TikTok users may want to make their accounts private:
- To control who can see and interact with their content
- To avoid unwanted attention or comments from strangers
- To maintain privacy and protect personal information
- To create a more intimate community with followers they know and trust
Making an account private gives users more control over their TikTok presence and helps them shape the type of audience they want to engage with on the platform.
Viewing a Private Account
When someone sets their TikTok account to private, only approved followers can view and interact with that account’s content. Unlike a public account where anyone can see posts and videos, a private account’s content is restricted.
If you try to view a private account you don’t follow, you’ll see a notice saying “This account’s videos are private” or “This account doesn’t share any videos.” You won’t be able to see any of their videos, photos, bios, or other information.
The only people who can fully view and engage with a private TikTok account are its approved followers. The account owner has full control over who can follow them. When you request to follow a private account, the owner will get a notification and can choose to approve or deny your request.
So in summary, a TikTok private account is visible only to approved followers. All other users are restricted from viewing any content until the account owner approves them.
Making Your Account Private
Making your entire TikTok account private is simple to do in just a few steps both on mobile and desktop. Here are the instructions for how to make your TikTok account private:
On mobile:
1. Open the TikTok app on your iOS or Android device.
2. Tap on the “Me” tab on the bottom right of the screen to go to your profile.
3. Tap on the three dots in the top right corner to open the menu.
4. Tap “Privacy and Settings”.
5. Toggle the switch for “Private Account” on (it will turn green).
On desktop:
1. Go to TikTok.com and log into your account.
2. Click on your profile icon in the top right and select “Privacy and Settings”.
3. Under “Account”, toggle the switch for “Private Account” on.
Once you toggle your account to private, all your existing videos and profile information will only be visible to your approved followers.
Approving/Denying Followers
When your TikTok account is set to private, you must manually approve or deny each follow request you receive. To manage follow requests:
On mobile:
- Tap the “Profile” icon in the bottom right corner.
- Tap the “Followers” tab at the top.
- Tap “Requests” to view pending requests.
- Tap “Approve” or “Delete” on each request.
On desktop:
- Click your profile icon in the top right corner.
- Click “Followers” in the dropdown menu.
- Click “Requests” next to your follower count.
- Click “Approve” or “Delete” on each request. [1]
Follow requests expire after 7 days if left unapproved. You can see who you have requested to follow under “Following” instead of “Followers.” Denying a request prevents that user from viewing your private content or sending another request.
Effects on Likes and Comments
When your TikTok account is set to private, only your approved followers can like or comment on your videos. This means you will likely get fewer likes and comments overall, since your audience is limited compared to a public account.
However, the likes and comments you do receive will be from followers who actively chose to engage with your content. The feedback may be more targeted and meaningful. But you miss out on potential engagement from random viewers who stumble across your videos.
According to TikTok’s support page, if you have comments enabled for a private account, “only people following you on TikTok can comment on your videos.” https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/messaging-and-notifications/comments
So while your overall likes and comments will likely decrease, the ones you get will be from your loyal followers. It becomes a more intimate but limited audience. You control who can interact, but reduce potential viral moments.
Effects on Duets and Stitches
Going private will affect how others can interact with your content through duets and stitches. A duet allows another user to create a video alongside yours in a split screen, while a stitch strings multiple videos together in a chain.
When your account is set to private, other users will not be able to duet or stitch your videos. Only your approved followers will have access to use your content for duets and stitches. This gives you more control over how your videos are reused on the platform.
Some creators intentionally keep their account public to allow duets and stitches by anyone. This can help videos go more viral through reposting. But it also means you lose control over how your content is reused. Setting your account to private limits duet and stitch access to only those you approve.
According to TikTok’s help center article on duets (https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/creating-videos/duets), “only followers you approve can duet your videos” when your account is set to private. The same limitation applies to stitches. So going private gives you selectivity over who can reuse your content in creative ways.
Effects on Live Videos
One of the main questions when making your TikTok account private is whether you can still go live and who can view your live videos. The short answer is yes, you can still go live when your account is set to private. However, the visibility of your live videos will be limited to only your approved followers.
Once your account is private, only your approved followers will be able to see when you go live or watch the live stream. Even if your live video is made public through settings, it will still only be visible to your followers. Those who are not following you will not see your live notification or be able to access the live video.
This restricted visibility can be beneficial if you only want to livestream to your close followers. However, it limits the ability to reach a wider audience through live videos while private. You can still build your follower base and then switch to private to limit access.
Overall, livestreaming is still possible with a private account, but its reach will be constrained. Think about your goals for livestreaming when deciding if a private account aligns with your needs.
Making Video Visible to Followers Only
You can choose to make individual videos only visible to your followers, even if your account is public. Here’s how:
1. Tap the “Share” icon after creating and editing your video. This opens the visibility settings.
2. Under “Who can view this video?”, tap “Followers.” This makes the video only visible to your followers.
3. Tap “Post” to publish the video with the visibility set to followers only.
Even if your account is public, this video will now only be visible to your followers and not show up on the For You feed for non-followers. You can set each video to be followers-only this way.[1]
Note that even if you make a video followers-only, it can still be seen if someone got the direct video link or if it was stitched or duetted by another user. The video itself will not show up publicly on your profile.
Switching Back to Public
If you later decide you want to make your TikTok account public again, you can easily revert back to a public profile. Here’s how:
1. Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page.
2. Tap on the menu icon in the top right corner (three horizontal lines).
3. Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
4. Choose “Privacy”.
5. Toggle the switch for “Private account” to off/disabled.
Your account will now be public again. Anyone will be able to view your profile, videos, likes, and follower/following lists without needing to send a follow request.
You can repeat these steps if you change your mind later and want to make your account private again. Toggling the “Private account” setting makes it easy to switch back and forth.
Final Tips
Here are some key takeaways for keeping your TikTok account private:
- Turn on “Private Account” in settings to make your entire account private (https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/account-safety)
- Review follower requests frequently and accept/deny as desired
- Use TikTok’s messaging feature to connect with potential followers before approving them
- Videos can still be reshared through stitches and duets when your account is private
- Consider making select videos public if you want them to be seen more broadly
- Keep an eye on analytics to see if a private account impacts your engagement
- You can switch back to a public account at any time in settings
With a private account, you maintain control over your audience and content. Take time to cultivate your follower list, connect via messaging, and analyze what works best for your goals.
