Why You Might Want a Private TikTok Account
One of the main reasons to make your TikTok account private is to protect your privacy and avoid unwanted attention. With a private account, only people you approve can see your videos, comments, likes and other interactions. This allows you to share content just with close friends without worrying about random strangers viewing your posts (source).
Keeping your account private also prevents current or potential employers, colleagues and other professional contacts from seeing your videos. You may feel more comfortable posting casual, silly or personal content knowing it won’t be visible to your work network (source). Having a private account gives you complete control over who can access your content.
Overall, a private TikTok account allows you to be more selective about sharing your videos. It provides an extra layer of privacy and gives you peace of mind that your content stays between you and your chosen followers.
When You Might Want a Public TikTok Account
One of the main reasons to have a public TikTok account is to reach a wider audience. With a public profile, your videos have the potential to be seen and engaged with by any of TikTok’s over 1 billion monthly active users. This increased visibility makes it easier to build a larger following on the platform. As your follower count grows, your future videos will reach an even bigger audience.
Another advantage of a public TikTok account is the ability to promote a business or personal brand. TikTok has become an important platform for influencer marketing. Brands partner with popular creators to promote products and services. Turning your profile public makes it possible for brands to discover you and potentially offer partnerships. It also allows you to directly market a business to new customers. According to one study, over 90% of TikTok users follow at least one brand.
In summary, the increased exposure and reach of a public TikTok account can help content creators build their brand and make it easier to monetize their audience.
How to Make Your TikTok Account Private
Making your TikTok account private is a simple process that only takes a few taps in the app. Here are the steps to make your TikTok account private:
1. Open the TikTok app and log into your account.
2. Tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner to go to your profile page.
3. Tap on the three dot menu icon in the top right corner of your profile.
4. Tap “Privacy and Settings”.
5. Toggle the “Private Account” setting to on (it will turn green).
That’s it! Your TikTok account is now set to private. Only users you approve can see your videos and interact with your account. You can toggle this setting on and off at any time to switch between a public and private account.
For more details, refer to TikTok’s support article on making your account public or private.
Effects of a Private TikTok Account
Making your TikTok account private has several effects on how your profile and content are seen by others:
Only approved followers can view or comment on your videos (Choosing between a private or public account). TikTok users who don’t follow you or haven’t been approved cannot see your posts on their feed or through searches.
Your private videos won’t show up in hashtag searches or people’s ‘For You’ feeds that showcase content outside of your followers (What will be the benefit of making my TikTok account private?). This limits the ability for your videos to go viral.
Making your account private removes your profile and videos from being discovered by the wider TikTok community. While this increases privacy, it also restricts your reach and engagement to only approved followers.
How to Make Your TikTok Account Public
You can easily make your TikTok account public again by following these simple steps:
1. Log into your TikTok account in the app or on the website.
2. Go to your profile page by tapping on the profile icon on the bottom right.
3. Tap on the three dot menu button in the top right corner and select “Privacy and Settings”.
4. Toggle the “Private Account” setting to off.
Once you switch the “Private Account” setting to off, your TikTok profile will become public. Anyone will be able to view your profile and videos without needing approval to follow you. You can always switch back to a private account at any time if you change your mind.
Effects of a Public TikTok Account
When your TikTok account is set to public, your profile and videos can be viewed by anyone on the platform. This gives your videos the potential to reach a much wider audience than a private account.
Some key effects of having a public TikTok profile include:
- Anyone can view your videos without needing approval to follow you. This makes it easier for random users to stumble upon your content.
- Your videos are able to be shared and go viral more easily since they are accessible to all TikTok users.
- It’s much easier to gain a large following when your account is public. People can follow you right away without needing you to approve them.
- You’ll likely get more comments, likes, and engagement on your videos from an expanded audience.
The public setting is ideal if your goal is to build a large TikTok audience and increase your views. However, it does mean giving up control over who can interact with your profile. You’ll need to manage safety and privacy in other ways.
Approving Followers for a Private Account
When you make your TikTok account private, you get to approve who can see and interact with your content. Follower requests will appear in your notifications, allowing you to review each user’s profile before approving them. This gives you control over who follows you.
According to TikTok’s Account Settings, with a private account “only people you’ve approved as followers can see your content.” You can choose to accept or deny each follow request individually.
While follower requests may appear randomly from people who find your account, you can also proactively send pre-approve links to friends. This allows you to build up an initial group of approved followers without making your account fully public right away.
Reviewing profiles of those requesting to follow you allows you to screen for potential spam accounts or anyone else you may not want viewing your private content. It takes extra effort to approve each user, but gives you maximum control over your audience.
Using Finstas and Spam Accounts
Some TikTok users utilize alternative accounts known as “finstas” and “spam accounts” for more privacy and anonymity on the platform.
“Finstas”, short for “fake Instagrams”, are private secondary accounts used to share more personal content with a smaller circle of close friends. They allow users to post casual, silly, or private content without cluttering up their main public profile. According to DFWChild, finstas have become popular among teens who want an outlet away from the pressure of their public accounts.
“Spam accounts” let users anonymously follow and interact with other accounts. As explained on TikTok’s Discover page, spam accounts do not contain any personal content. Users can browse TikTok privately without liking videos or following accounts that would be visible to their friends and followers. Spam accounts are essentially private viewing accounts.
For users who desire more control over their digital footprint, finstas and spam accounts present options to use TikTok more anonymously. They exemplify the platform’s privacy features that give users choice in what parts of their online presence to share publicly.
Managing Comments on Private Accounts
When you have a private TikTok account, you have more control over comments on your videos. Here are some of the key options for managing comments:
You can limit comments to be only from approved followers. To do this, go to your account settings and under “Privacy and Safety” choose “Filter Comments.” Toggle “Filter Comments” on and then under “Approved Followers” check the box to “Only approved followers can comment.” This will restrict comments to only people you’ve approved to follow you.
You also have the ability to turn off commenting entirely. In your account settings under “Privacy and Safety” toggle “Allow Comments” off. This will prevent anyone from commenting on your private videos.
If you do get unwanted or inappropriate comments, you can delete them. Press and hold on a comment and tap “Delete” to remove it. You can also tap into a video’s comments, press “Manage” at the top, select multiple comments, and tap “Delete” to remove multiple comments at once.
So having a private account gives you full control over comments. You can limit them to approved followers, disable them entirely, or delete any unwanted comments that do get posted.
Alternatives for More Privacy
If you are concerned about privacy on TikTok but still want to use the platform, there are some alternatives you can try to limit how much of your data is collected. One option is to create a separate TikTok account just for close friends and family. This “finsta” account can be kept private so you have more control over who sees your content.
TikTok also has privacy settings you can adjust to limit data sharing. You can turn off personalized ads, disable your videos from being downloaded, restrict messages to followers only, and make your account private. While TikTok will still collect some usage data, these settings help reduce your digital footprint.
Additionally, be cautious about showing identifiable information in your TikTok videos and profile. Avoid revealing locations, your school, workplace, etc. The less personal details are associated with your account, the more anonymity you maintain.
Sources:
https://vpnoverview.com/privacy/social-media/best-tiktok-alternatives/
