Finding someone on TikTok when you don’t know their username or have their phone number can be tricky, but it is possible. Here are some tips and methods you can use to track down TikTok users when you only have limited information about them.
Use Their Profile Photo
If you have a photo of the TikTok user’s profile, you can do a reverse image search to potentially find their account. Here are some reverse image search services you can use:
- Google Images – Simply go to images.google.com and click the camera icon to upload the profile photo. Google will show you any webpages where that image appears.
- TinEye – Upload the photo to tineye.com. TinEye will scan the web for matching images.
- Yandex – Yandex.com is a Russian search engine that also does reverse image searches.
With luck, one of the results will be the person’s TikTok profile page. This method works best when the profile photo is unique to that user and not just a generic image.
Search Their Name
If you know the full name of the TikTok user, do a search on TikTok for their first and last name written out. Put the name in quotation marks to search for it as an exact phrase. This will show you TikTok profiles that have the name in the title, bio or username.
Try variations of their name as well – nicknames, middle names, initials, etc. People don’t always use their full first and last name on social media.
Search Their Username on Other Sites
Often people use the same username across multiple social media platforms. Search for the person’s TikTok username on sites like:
- YouTube
- Twitch
- Snapchat
If you find matching usernames on other platforms, check if they have a link to their TikTok page on their profiles. The profile may also give you more details like their real name that you can use to search TikTok.
Use Their Phone Number
If you have the person’s phone number, there are a couple options to find their TikTok account:
- Search TikTok by phone number – There is no direct way to do this, but some third-party sites claim to offer TikTok searches by phone number.
- Use phone number lookup services – Sites like Sync.ME, TruthFinder and Spokeo search public records tied to a phone number, which may reveal a name you can search on TikTok.
However, phone number search methods are not guaranteed to work and may require paid services. Proceed with caution as some sites make big claims about phone number searching that don’t always deliver.
Search Their Email Address
If you have the email address used for their TikTok account, try searching it on Google, enclosed in quotes. This may reveal social media profiles attached to that email address.
You can also try using email lookup services like EmailHippo, EmailSherlock and PRX. These aggregate public information connected to an email, which could include name, location or social media handles.
Use Their Location
If you only know the city, state or country the person lives in, add that location to your TikTok search terms. For example:
- “John Smith Los Angeles”
- “@johnsmith Miami”
- “Katie NYC”
Location searches can help narrow down results by geography. You can also search hometowns, universities, places of employment etc.
Check Their Friends/Family Accounts
If you know the TikTok usernames of the person’s friends or family members, look for tags and mentions between their accounts. People often interact with their close connections on TikTok.
You can also look through the follower/following lists of their friends/family. There’s a good chance their account will be there.
Use Hashtags They Use
If you know of specific hashtags the person commonly uses in their videos, search those tags on TikTok. For example, hashtags related to their:
- Interests and hobbies
- School/university
- Sports teams
- City/hometown
- Job/industry
Scanning videos under those tags may help you find the person’s account. You can also search related sounds if you know any they commonly use.
Contact Their Connections
Reach out to the person’s friends, family, colleagues, etc. and ask if they know the missing TikTok username. Make sure not to come off as creepy or demanding though.
If you share mutual connections, ask your shared connection to pass your contact information along. This can prompt the person to reach out and reveal their account details.
Try Social Media Management Tools
Social media management platforms like Hootsuite and Sprout Social have search functions to find users across major platforms including TikTok. However, these require you have access to those tools already.
Some employee monitoring software used by businesses will also track employees’ social media activity across work devices. But this only works in specific business contexts.
Hire a Private Investigator
For a price, private investigators have access to various databases and methods to track down information on a person, including social media accounts. This is usually the most guaranteed way to find someone’s TikTok if all else fails.
However, hiring a PI can get very expensive. Make sure to get quotes from multiple PIs before moving forward with this method.
Ask Them
If you have any direct way to contact the person, like their email, phone number or real-life access, just ask them what their TikTok username is. This is the easiest and most straightforward method, though not always possible.
When asking directly, make sure to have a reasonable explanation for why you want their TikTok handle. Don’t come off as creepy or demanding.
Report a Safety Concern
If you believe the person is posting dangerous or worrisome content on TikTok that violates community guidelines, you can file a safety report through TikTok even without knowing the exact username.
Fill out the form with as many details as possible about the person and the content. TikTok will investigate and potentially track down the account posting the concerning content.
Hire Someone to Find Them
In extreme cases where finding someone’s TikTok is very important, you may need to hire professional help from a social media investigator, lawyer or law firm. They have ways to legally compel TikTok to reveal private account information.
However, this is an expensive method and usually reserved for serious legal/criminal cases. Think carefully before pursuing this route.
Consider if You Should Be Searching
Before spending time and money to find someone’s hidden or private TikTok account, consider if you have the right to access that information. Make sure your reasons align with the person’s right to privacy.
If they have not made their profile information available to you, there may be good reasons. Think twice before digging deeply into their online activity without consent.
Finding a TikTok account without consent or good reason can come across as invasive, unethical or even illegal depending on the situation. Always evaluate whether your motivations are appropriate.
Tips to Narrow Down the Search
Here are some additional tips that can aid the search process for a specific TikTok user:
- Gather all identifiable info about the person – name, location, interests, etc. The more data points the better.
- Search obvious usernames like actual name, nickname, initials combined with numbers.
- Look for profile photos and see if reverse image search finds their account.
- Check for duplicate usernames on other sites that may link to a TikTok profile.
- Dig through posts of known connections to uncover possible tags and mentions.
- Analyze the language, hashtags and sounds used in their content for search terms.
- Use advanced operators like “OR” and “NOT” to exclude irrelevant results.
Finding a TikTok user without much information is challenging, but with persistence and creativity, it may be possible. Just be sure your reasons for searching are ethical. With limitless profiles on the platform, searching strategically is key.
