TikTok is a popular short-form video platform where users can create and share short videos. One feature of TikTok is the activity status, which shows other users whether you are currently active on the app or not. The activity status indicates if a user is actively using TikTok or if they have the app open in the background.
Viewing Someone’s Activity Status
To view someone else’s activity status on TikTok, you first need to open their profile page. At the top of their profile, next to their username, you will see one of three activity status indicators:
- A green dot for “Online”
- An orange dot for “Active”
- No dot for “Offline”
Tapping on the dot will show you more details about when that user was last active on TikTok. For example, tapping on the green “Online” dot may show “Active just now,” while the orange “Active” dot may show “Active 30 minutes ago.”
This allows you to get a sense of if and when that user was recently using TikTok. However, keep in mind that users can choose to hide their activity status, so you won’t see an indicator dot for them.
Overall, checking someone’s activity status is a quick and easy way to get a sense of their recent TikTok activity, directly from their profile.
Setting Your Own Activity Status
Setting your own activity status on TikTok allows you to control what others see when they look at your profile. Here’s how to set your activity status on TikTok:
Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner to open the menu. Select “Settings and privacy” then choose “Privacy.” Next, tap on “Activity status” to open the activity status settings.
Here you can choose between three options: Active, Offline, or Online.
- Active – This shows you as currently active on TikTok to anyone who views your profile.
- Offline – This makes your status appear as offline or inactive on TikTok.
- Online – This shows you as online but not actively using TikTok.
Select the status you want by tapping on it. Your new activity status will now display to other users. You can change it anytime by coming back to these settings.
Setting your status intentionally is a good way to indicate your availability and activity level to friends and followers. Choose offline if you don’t want others knowing you’re on TikTok. Set to active when you’re engaging with others and making content.
Active Status
The active status on TikTok indicates when a user is currently active on the app. If someone has their active status turned on, you will be able to see “Active Now” under their username if they are actively using TikTok at that moment. According to TikTok’s support page, “Active Now means the user has been active on TikTok in the last 10 minutes.” [1]
So if you see the “Active Now” status on one of your mutual followers, it means they have opened the TikTok app within the last 10 minutes. This could indicate they are currently browsing their For You feed, engaging with videos, commenting, or posting new content. The active status provides a real-time glimpse into whether a user is currently on TikTok.
Offline Status
The offline status on TikTok indicates when a user was last active on the app. If someone’s status shows as “Offline,” it means they have not been active on TikTok for a while.
Specifically, the offline status means the user has not interacted with the TikTok app in the last 24 hours. This includes actions like scrolling through the For You feed, posting a video, commenting, liking, or messaging. If none of these actions have occurred in the past day, the user’s status will switch to offline.
It’s important to note that the offline status does not necessarily mean the user has not opened the TikTok app at all in the past 24 hours. They may have opened the app but not engaged with any content. Simply opening the app does not count as being “active.”
The offline status is not an exact indicator of when someone was last on TikTok. It provides a general sense that the user has not been active recently. The status updates once the user starts interacting with TikTok again after a period of inactivity longer than 24 hours.
Sources:
https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/account-privacy-settings/activity-status-on-tiktok
Online Status
The online status on TikTok indicates when a user is actively using the app. A green dot next to a user’s profile picture means they are currently online on TikTok. This shows real-time activity and signifies the user has the app open and is browsing content, commenting, posting, or interacting in some way at that moment. The online status automatically updates, so you’ll see the green dot disappear after a user closes the app or becomes inactive for a set period of time. According to TikTok’s support site, the green online dot may still display for a short time after a user goes offline before disappearing. So while it shows real-time activity, it’s not an instantaneous indicator.
TikTok’s online status feature allows you to see when your friends or followers are actively in the app. It provides awareness of real-time activity, which some users enjoy. However, you can disable the setting if you prefer others not to know when you’re online.
Hiding Your Activity Status
TikTok gives users the ability to hide their activity status if they want more privacy. Here’s how to do it:
Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right. Then tap on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to open the menu. Select “Settings and privacy” then “Privacy”.
Under “Activity status and online presence,” tap on “Hide your status from others”. This will prevent other people from seeing when you are online or active on TikTok.
You can also hide your activity status from specific contacts. Tap on “Hide your status from” and select which contacts you want to hide it from. Choose “Everyone” to hide it from all users.
Once you hide your activity status, other TikTok users will not be able to see when you were last active or online. Your profile will simply show no activity status. This gives you more control over your privacy on the app.
To make your status visible again, just go back to the “Privacy” settings and toggle “Hide your status from others” off. You can also selectively unhide it from individual contacts again.
Who Can See Your Activity Status
Your activity status on TikTok is visible only to your mutual followers – people who follow you that you also follow back. No one else will be able to see if you are online, offline, or when you were last active on TikTok.
So your activity status is limited to people in your extended social circle on TikTok. Strangers who don’t follow you or people you don’t follow back will not have visibility into your activity status.
TikTok designed it this way intentionally to give users control over who can view their activity status. It’s a way to maintain some privacy even as you interact with other users on the platform.
Privacy Concerns
While the TikTok activity status can be useful, there are some privacy concerns users should be aware of. The main issue is that the activity status gives other users insight into when you’re actively using TikTok. This opens up the potential for harassment, unwanted messaging, or stalking type behavior if someone sees you’re actively online.
Users, especially younger teenagers, should be cautious about who they allow to see their activity status. Strangers and casual acquaintances do not need to know when you’re actively on TikTok. Furthermore, the activity status can enable cyberbullying if bullies know when someone is online.
TikTok does allow users to limit who can see their activity status, which can help mitigate privacy risks. Users can set their activity status to be visible to “No One” so it remains private. TikTok could do more to educate users, especially younger teens, about the potential privacy implications of the activity status feature and how to use the privacy settings.
Conclusion
In summary, the activity status on TikTok allows you to see when your mutual followers are active on the app. There are three possible statuses – Active, Online, and Offline. You can choose to show or hide your own activity status in your privacy settings. The main purpose of this feature is to allow friends to see when each other are online and active on TikTok. However, some users have concerns about privacy. Ultimately, the activity status gives users more information about their connections on TikTok, but everyone has to decide for themselves whether to enable the feature or not.
The key points covered in this article include:
- How to view someone else’s activity status
- The three status options: Active, Online, Offline
- How to set your own activity status
- Options for hiding your status
- Who can see your activity status
- Privacy implications of the feature
The TikTok activity status aims to help people feel more connected on the platform by letting them know when their friends are online. However, it also reveals information some may consider private. Each user must decide whether the pros outweigh the cons for them personally.
