TikTok is a popular short-form video app that has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide as of 2023 (Source). The app allows users to create and share 15 to 60 second videos on any topic. One of TikTok’s key features is the ability to view other users’ profiles and see their posted content.
Within user profiles, TikTok has a section called “Profile View History” that shows who has recently viewed your profile. This lets users see who is interacting with their profile and checking out their videos. Users may be interested in this feature to see who their top viewers are, find new accounts to follow, or keep track of people viewing their profile.
What is Profile View History?
Profile view history is a feature on TikTok that shows you a list of the users who have viewed your profile recently. When you enable this feature in your account settings, TikTok will start tracking the accounts that visit your profile page. This creates a view history that shows you the usernames of those viewers.
Profile view history allows you to see who is interested in your profile and checking out your content. It gives you insight into your audience and followers. However, it only tracks views that occur after you turn on the setting. It does not show you a historical view count.
Who Can See Your Profile View History?
Users have control over who can see their TikTok profile view history. By default, the profile view history is private and only visible to you. Other users cannot see who has viewed their profile.
To change these settings:
- Go to your profile and tap the 3 dots in the top right corner
- Select “Privacy and Safety”
- Under “Profile View History”, toggle “Profile View History” on or off
With this setting turned on, you’ll be able to see the usernames of accounts that have viewed your profile in the last 30 days. But enabling this will also allow the accounts you view to see that you visited them.
So in summary:
- By default, only you can see your profile view history
- Turning on profile view history allows others to see you in their view history
- Other users still can’t see their own profile view history – that’s always private
Where to Find Profile View History
The profile view history feature on TikTok is located in your account settings. To access it:
- Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner.
- Tap on the three horizontal lines icon in the top right corner to open the menu.
- Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
- Tap on “Privacy” from the list of options.
- Under “Content visibility,” toggle on “Profile view history.”
Enabling this feature will allow you to see a list of users who have recently viewed your TikTok profile. The list can be accessed again through the “Privacy” section of your settings.
What Profile Views Show Up?
Not all profile views will show up in your profile view history. Here’s what you need to know:
Anonymous views don’t show up. If someone views your profile without being logged into an account, that view won’t show up in your history. TikTok wants to protect user privacy, so they don’t record anonymous views.
Views from private accounts you don’t follow don’t show up either. If a private account views your profile, you’ll only see it in your history if you also follow that account. Again, this protects privacy by not exposing private accounts you don’t mutually follow.
Other than the above exceptions, your profile view history will show the usernames of followers and non-followers who viewed your profile while logged into their account. Each view is recorded and displayed in chronological order.
How Far Back Does History Go?
TikTok’s profile view history only shows the past 7 days of views. Any views older than 7 days automatically disappear from your view history and are not stored.
According to TikTok’s support page, “You can only see who has viewed your profile in the last 7 days. Views older than 7 days will disappear from your view history.” [1]
So if someone viewed your profile 8 days ago, it will not show up in your current view history. The view history acts on a rolling 7 day basis, dropping off the oldest views as new ones come in.
This limited view history helps protect user privacy. Views are not stored indefinitely but are automatically deleted after 7 days. So you don’t have to worry about every view being permanently tracked.
Does Viewing Order Matter?
No, the order of profile views does not actually reflect the chronological order that people viewed your profile. According to TikTok’s support page, “The viewers aren’t ordered chronologically and can appear randomly.”
So even though the list of profile views may make it seem like the accounts are ordered with the most recent at the top, that’s not an accurate representation. The order is essentially random and cannot be relied upon to determine viewing history chronology.
This means you shouldn’t assume the first profile at the top just viewed your page, or that the last one viewed it awhile ago. The order is randomized and not chronological despite how it may appear.
Does Viewing Affect Your Profile?
When it comes to the TikTok algorithm, profile views do not actually directly boost your profile’s engagement or reach. The number of profile views is not a metric that is used by TikTok’s algorithm to determine how much to promote your content or profile. Profile views are purely for your own reference to see who has visited your profile.
Some key things to know:
- Having more profile views will not make your videos go more viral or get more engagement.
- Viewing someone else’s profile does not boost their account or content at all in the algorithm.
- Profile views are not public and are just for your reference.
- The most important metric is video views, engagement, and watch time. Focus on creating captivating content that performs well.
So in summary, profile views are just for your own knowledge and do not directly impact the algorithm. TikTok’s recommendations are based primarily on each video’s performance.
Pro Tips
Here are some pro tips for using your TikTok profile view history:
Use it to gauge content performance. Your profile views can give you insight into which videos and content are resonating with your audience. Pay attention to spikes in views after posting certain videos to see what types of content generates the most interest.
See who engages with you most. You can get a sense of your most engaged followers by seeing who views your profile often. This can help you nurture those relationships and optimize your content for that audience.
Turn it on temporarily. If you don’t want to have your view history on all the time, you can turn it on to check periodically. Just remember to turn it off again if you want to stay private.
View in incognito mode. You can view profiles without the account holder knowing by using TikTok’s incognito mode. Toggle this on in Settings > Privacy for private browsing.
Conclusion
Profile view history on TikTok allows you to see who has visited your profile recently. While it doesn’t show you every single viewer, it provides insight into which accounts are engaging with your content. The feature is only visible to you, giving you data to optimize your profile and content strategy while protecting user privacy.
Reviewing your profile view history can help you identify new followers, cross-promotional opportunities, and trending content. But don’t get too caught up in the views – focus on consistently creating high-quality videos that resonate with your audience. The right viewers will find your profile organically over time.
Remember that viewing someone else’s profile does not notify them or affect how their content performs. Feel free to explore TikTok profiles that interest you without worrying about appearances. Focus on connecting with creators and communities that inspire you to keep creating.
