Being blocked on TikTok means another user has restricted your ability to view or interact with their profile and content. This prevents you from viewing the profile, commenting on videos, reacting with likes or shares, and generally engaging with that person on TikTok.
TikTok is focused on creating a positive user experience, so blocking can help users control interactions. However, being blocked can be frustrating if you enjoyed someone’s content or wanted to maintain a connection.
Knowing you’ve been blocked allows you to understand why it happened and potentially resolve any issues. It also helps avoid wasted time trying to interact with a profile you can’t access. Understanding the signs of being blocked enables users to identify and address problems promptly.
Notification
TikTok does not send any notification when someone blocks you on the platform. This means that if someone blocks you, you won’t receive any alert or message from TikTok informing you of this action.
Unlike other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram that notify users when they’ve been blocked, TikTok keeps it discreet. The user who gets blocked does not get notified directly by the app.
According to Nerdschalk, “No, TikTok does not notify the user when you block them. They will immediately be added to your blocked list on the app. If you unblock the user later on, TikTok won’t notify them about it either.” (Source)
So when someone blocks you on TikTok, you simply won’t get any notification for it. The only way to know is by checking the blocked user’s profile and seeing the signs that you’ve been blocked.
Profile and Videos
When someone blocks you on TikTok, their profile and videos will look much different than normal. According to wikiHow, when you tap on a blocked user’s profile, it will hide their bio and videos completely [1]. Instead of seeing their profile information and video feed, you will just see a message saying “You can’t view this person’s videos and bio because the account owner has restricted certain info to protect their privacy.”
Similarly, if you try to access one of their videos directly or click on a comment you left on their video in the past, you will get a “Video Unavailable” message. As Shane Barker describes on Medium, if you suddenly can’t see one of their videos you previously interacted with, that’s a sign they may have blocked you [2]. Essentially, all access to a blocked user’s profile and video content is completely cut off.
Comments
When a user blocks someone on TikTok, the blocked user can no longer see or interact with any of the blocker’s comments. According to TikTok’s Help Center, “Blocking users disables them from viewing your videos or engaging with you through direct messages, comments, follows or likes.”
This means that once blocked, the blocked user will not be able to see any new comments made by the blocker. Any existing comments made by the blocker prior to being blocked will also disappear from the blocked user’s view.
The blocked user will not get any notifications about new comments made by the blocker. They will also be prevented from replying to, liking, or sharing any of the blocker’s comments. Essentially it will be as if the blocker never made any comments from the perspective of the blocked user.
However, the comments themselves still exist on TikTok even if the blocked user can’t see them. As explained on Reddit, “It just makes it so you can’t see the comment from the blocked account. But if you go there on an alt account, the comment is still there.”
In summary, blocking prevents the blocked user from viewing or engaging with any comments made by the blocker, both old and new, but it does not delete or remove the comments entirely from TikTok.
Likes and Shares
If you block someone on TikTok, the blocked user will no longer be able to see your likes or shares. However,
according to TikTok’s support page,
you will still be able to see the blocked user’s likes and shares. So the blocking is not mutual when it comes to viewing likes and shares.
This means that if you block someone, they won’t see any of the content you’ve liked or shared, but you will still see their engagement on others’ content.
TikTok does this to prevent potential harassment if the blocked user realizes you can no longer see their likes.
Duets and Stiches
When a TikTok user is blocked, they can no longer duet or stitch videos from the account that blocked them. Any existing duets or stitches they had already created with the blocked account’s videos will still be visible on their own profile. However, the original video from the blocked account will not be viewable within the duet or stitch.
This means that if User A blocks User B, User B can still see their old duets/stitches featuring User A’s videos on their own profile. But when viewing the duet/stitch, User A’s original video will just show a grayed out image instead of playing. User A will not see any new duets or stitches of their content if they have blocked User B.
According to TikTok’s support page, “If you choose to delete Duets associated with your video, then all those videos, including the Duets, will be deleted.” [1] This indicates that the original video creator has control over whether blocked users’ duets/stitches remain visible or not.
In summary, being blocked prevents creating new duets/stitches but does not automatically delete existing ones. The blocker can choose to remove previous duets/stitches associated with their account if desired.
Live Videos
When you go live on TikTok, your live video is public and visible to all users by default. However, if you block someone, they will not be able to view or interact with your live videos.
Blocked users will not see your live video preview on their For You feed. If they try to access your live video directly from your profile, they will see a message saying “Video Unavailable” instead of the live stream.
In addition, according to a Reddit user, blocked viewers can still see and interact with live comments, but the account names will appear anonymized as “Deleted User.” However, the creator of the live video will not see comments from blocked users. This allows blocked users some limited ability to still participate in lives [1].
Overall, blocking prevents users from directly viewing or commenting on your live videos. However, some limited participation may still be possible unless further restrictions are put in place.
Direct Messages
Blocking someone on TikTok also prevents you from sending direct messages to that person. According to Shane Barker, “If you try sending a DM to someone who has blocked you, TikTok will prevent the message from going through and notify you that the message could not be sent.” Trying to send a DM to a blocked user will result in an error that says “Couldn’t send message.”
Likewise, you will not be able to receive any new direct messages from a user who has blocked you. As Airdroid explains, “When someone blocks you on TikTok, all communication between you two is cut off. This means you won’t be able to send or receive messages to and from the blocked account.” So blocking prevents all direct messaging in both directions.
Being Unblocked
If someone who previously blocked you decides to unblock you, there are a few ways you can know you’ve been unblocked on TikTok:
You’ll be able to view their profile and videos again. If you were previously blocked, their profile and videos would show as unavailable. Once unblocked, you’ll have access to view their content once more.1
You’ll be able to follow them again. When blocked, the follow button is removed from their profile. If the follow button reappears, it means you’ve been unblocked.2
Your comments on their videos will go through. Previously blocked users’ comments are automatically removed. If your comments are posting again, you’ve likely been unblocked.
You’ll be able to message them directly. The messaging option disappears when you’re blocked. If you can message them again, you can assume you’ve been unblocked.
By taking note of these changes on their profile and in your interactions, you can determine if someone has chosen to unblock you on TikTok.
Conclusion
In summary, being blocked on TikTok can have a significant impact on a user’s experience. They will no longer be able to view the blocker’s profile, videos, comments, likes, shares, duets, stitches or live videos. The blocked user also loses the ability to message or interact with the blocker in any way. While being blocked can be disappointing, it’s important to respect other users’ decisions and move on. There are plenty of creators to follow and engaging content to be found across TikTok. Focusing on positive interactions can help make the platform enjoyable for everyone.
