If you want to disable the SharePlay feature on TikTok, either temporarily or permanently, there are a few simple steps you can take. SharePlay allows you to watch and interact with videos together with your friends in real-time, but you may want to turn it off for privacy or other reasons.
What is SharePlay on TikTok?
SharePlay is a feature on TikTok that lets you watch and interact with videos together with your friends in real time over FaceTime. When SharePlay is enabled, you can scroll through videos on TikTok while on a FaceTime call and the videos will be synced so you and your friends are watching the same thing at the same time.
You can also like, comment on, and share videos together. Your friends’ reactions and comments will appear on your screen. Basically, SharePlay makes it feel like you’re sitting together in the same room watching TikTok videos.
SharePlay works on both iOS and Android devices. To use it, you simply need to start a FaceTime call with a friend and then open TikTok. You’ll see the SharePlay icon at the top of the app – tap it to get started.
Why Would You Want to Turn Off SharePlay?
There are a few reasons why you may want to disable SharePlay on your TikTok account:
- Privacy – With SharePlay on, your friends can see everything you do in the TikTok app like the videos you watch, like, and comment on. Turning it off prevents them from seeing your activity.
- Avoid distractions – Having SharePlay on may distract you and your friends from your FaceTime conversation since you’re focused on reacting to videos.
- Save data – SharePlay uses more data as everything is synced in real-time. Turning it off can help reduce data usage.
- Buggy experience – SharePlay is still new and may sometimes be glitchy or not work properly, so you may want to disable it until it’s smoother.
- Don’t want to use the feature – You may simply not be interested in or dislike the SharePlay feature and don’t want to have it on.
How to Temporarily Turn Off SharePlay on TikTok
If you just want to temporarily turn off SharePlay for a specific FaceTime call or session on TikTok, it’s easy to do:
- Start a FaceTime call with a friend.
- Open the TikTok app while you’re still on the call.
- Tap on the SharePlay icon at the top of the screen – it looks like two interconnected rings.
- A popup will appear – tap on “Stop Using SharePlay.”
This will disable SharePlay for the current FaceTime call only. When you make your next FaceTime call and open TikTok, you’ll have to toggle it off again if you don’t want it enabled.
So this method lets you turn SharePlay on or off on a case-by-case basis depending on who you’re talking to and whether or not you want to use the feature for that particular call.
How to Permanently Disable SharePlay
If you want to completely turn off SharePlay on your TikTok account so that it never automatically turns on when you open the app during a FaceTime call, follow these steps:
- Open the TikTok app on your iPhone or Android.
- Go to your profile by tapping the “Me” tab on the bottom.
- Tap on the three horizontal line menu icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
- Tap on “Privacy.”
- Toggle off the switch next to “SharePlay.”
Toggling off SharePlay in your privacy settings will completely disable the feature going forward. Now when you open TikTok during a FaceTime call, SharePlay will remain off and not turn on automatically.
You can always go back into your privacy settings and toggle SharePlay back on if you change your mind later. But this gives you a simple way to permanently opt out of having SharePlay enabled if it’s not something you want to use.
How to Turn Off SharePlay on TikTok on iPhone
The process for turning off SharePlay on an iPhone is the same as outlined above. Here are the steps again specifically for iOS users:
Temporarily disable:
- Start a FaceTime call.
- Open TikTok.
- Tap the SharePlay icon at the top.
- Select “Stop Using SharePlay” when the popup appears.
Permanently disable:
- Open TikTok and go to your profile.
- Tap the three line menu button.
- Go to “Settings and privacy.”
- Tap on “Privacy.”
- Toggle off “SharePlay.”
This will completely disable SharePlay on your iPhone’s TikTok app so it never automatically turns on when you open the app during a FaceTime call.
How to Turn Off SharePlay on TikTok on Android
Here are the steps to turn off SharePlay on TikTok for Android devices:
Temporarily disable:
- Start a FaceTime call.
- Open the TikTok app.
- Tap the SharePlay icon.
- Select “Stop Using SharePlay.”
Permanently disable:
- Open TikTok and go to your profile.
- Tap the three line menu icon.
- Go to “Settings and privacy.”
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Toggle off “SharePlay.”
Following these steps will let you turn off SharePlay on your Android device either temporarily for one FaceTime call or completely across your TikTok app.
Turning SharePlay Back On
If you change your mind later and want to re-enable SharePlay after disabling it, just follow the steps below:
On iPhone:
- Go to your TikTok profile.
- Tap the menu icon.
- Go to “Settings and privacy.”
- Tap “Privacy.”
- Toggle “SharePlay” back on.
On Android:
- Open your TikTok profile.
- Tap the menu icon.
- Go to “Settings and privacy.”
- Select “Privacy.”
- Toggle “SharePlay” back on.
That’s all there is to it! Toggling the SharePlay switch back on will re-enable the feature across TikTok.
Why TikTok Doesn’t Let You Fully Disable SharePlay
While you can temporarily or permanently turn off SharePlay on your end, there’s no setting within TikTok to fully disable SharePlay for all users. The option is only available on a per-user basis.
TikTok likely doesn’t allow fully disabling SharePlay for a few reasons:
- It’s a new feature they are heavily promoting and want people to use.
- The ability to toggle it on/off per user gives people control without taking away the feature entirely.
- Fully disabling something requires updating the app code which takes more time/resources.
- They may be monitoring adoption rates before considering removing it as an option.
So while you can’t completely get rid of SharePlay as an option for your TikTok account, you have good control over when the feature is enabled based on your own preferences.
Other Ways to Limit SharePlay Use
In addition to the on/off toggle, there are a couple other things you can do to limit SharePlay use:
- Only enable it for specific friends – TikTok allows you to enable SharePlay on a per-friend basis. So you can limit it to close friends you really want to co-watch videos with.
- Restrict it to WiFi – Since SharePlay increases data usage, only allow it when connected to WiFi to save your mobile data.
- Disable FaceTime – Turning off FaceTime blocks the ability to use SharePlay. But this affects all FaceTime calls.
- Enable ScreenTime limits – Apple’s ScreenTime feature lets you limit TikTok usage which effectively limits SharePlay time too.
Combining the on/off toggle with restrictions like these above gives you even more control over SharePlay based on your preferences.
The Bottom Line
SharePlay is a fun way to watch and engage with TikTok videos together with friends. But if it’s not something you want to use, you have options to disable it.
On iPhone or Android, you can easily turn SharePlay off temporarily for a specific FaceTime call. Or permanently disable it via your TikTok privacy settings for your account.
While TikTok doesn’t allow completely removing the feature altogether, the on/off toggle gives users good control over managing SharePlay based on their own needs.