If you’ve ever tried to see who one of your friends is following on TikTok and come up empty, you’re not alone. TikTok has intentionally made it difficult to see a complete list of who someone follows, likely due to privacy concerns. However, there are still a few ways to get an idea of the accounts your friends interact with on TikTok.
TikTok Follows are Private by Default
The main reason you can’t see who your friends follow on TikTok is that TikTok makes follows private by default. Unlike other social networks like Instagram or Twitter, there is no public listing of all the accounts a user follows that anyone can access.
TikTok seems to have made this decision intentionally as a way to protect user privacy and prevent harmful social comparison. Showing follows publicly can enable envy, toxic fandoms, and lead users to make assumptions about others based on the accounts they interact with. By making follows private, TikTok aims to create a more welcoming environment.
You Can Only See Follows of Friends Who Follow You Back
The one exception to private follows is that you can see who your friends follow, but only if they also follow you back. So if you and a friend follow each other, you’ll be able to go to their profile and view a list of “Following” that shows accounts they follow.
However, if one of your friends doesn’t follow you back, you won’t be able to see any of the accounts they follow. You’ll simply see a message that the user’s follows are private.
Following Lists Don’t Show All Follows
Another catch is that even when you can view your mutual friends’ follows, you still can’t see all of the accounts they actually follow. TikTok will only show a limited number of follows.
For example, someone may actually follow 500 accounts, but their following list on their profile may only show 100 of those. TikTok seems to limit follows shown to around 100-200 accounts.
You Can See Liked Videos
While you can’t see a full following list, you can get an idea of who your friends follow by looking at what videos they’ve liked. TikTok makes likes public, so you can visit a friend’s profile and see all of the videos they’ve liked recently.
Looking through the videos your friends have liked will show you what types of accounts they follow, even if you can’t see the actual follow list. The liked videos represent their interests and the types of content they consume on TikTok.
See Comments They’ve Made
Similarly, you can look at comments your friends have made on videos. This can also give you clues about what types of accounts they actively engage with and likely follow.
For example, if you see a friend commenting on dance challenge videos from certain creators, you can assume they actively follow and watch those types of accounts even if you can’t confirm the actual follow.
Observe What They Share
Pay attention to what types of videos and content your friends share to their own TikTok profiles. Chances are they follow the creators of any videos they re-share or videos that inspire them to create similar content.
So if a friend mainly shares cooking videos, you can deduce they likely follow various cooking creators and accounts even if you can’t see this in their following list.
Look for Following in Bios
Some TikTok users include accounts they follow and recommend in their profile bios. So that’s another place to look for follows. Your friend might directly list some of their favorite TikTok creators in their bio.
However, this isn’t super common so don’t expect to see a full detailed list. But bios can provide a few examples of who a user follows and wants to promote.
See Who They Duet With
Duets on TikTok require both users to follow each other. So if your friend does a duet with another creator, it’s a clear sign they follow them and actively engage with their content.
Duets show up on user profiles along with normal TikTok posts, so browse through and take note of any creators your friend has partnered with for duets.
Look for Fan Group Badges
Some popular TikTok creators have fan group badges that appear below a user’s name if they are part of the fan community. If you see one of these badges on a friend’s profile, it means they follow that creator and have joined their fan group.
Having the badge also signifies they are heavily engaged with the creator’s content and community. So it’s a clear indicator of at least one account they follow.
See Who They Follow on Other Platforms
Since you likely know your friends’ accounts on other platforms like Instagram, Twitter or YouTube, check out who they follow there. Chances are they follow many of the same types of creators and accounts across platforms.
So if a friend follows a certain beauty guru on Instagram, they probably also follow that person on TikTok. Use other platforms as a guide for their interests and what accounts they might follow on TikTok as well.
Ask Mutual Friends
If you have mutual friends with the person, consider asking them if they know who your friend follows on TikTok. Since they may follow each other back, your mutual friends could share some of the accounts they’ve seen your friend interact with.
Just keep privacy in mind when asking, as not everyone may feel comfortable sharing someone else’s follows without permission. But it can provide some useful insight in certain cases.
Guess Based on Their Interests
If you know what your friend’s personal interests and hobbies are, you can make educated guesses about the types of accounts they likely follow. Are they interested in makeup? They probably follow popular makeup artists. Love sports? They likely follow sports fan accounts.
Guessing follows based on interests isn’t foolproof, but it can give you a decent idea of the type of content they engage with on a regular basis.
Why You Can’t See All Follows
While the limited visibility into your friends’ follows may be frustrating, TikTok likely made this decision to protect privacy and prevent harassment. Other social networks have faced backlash for making follows public.
Some reasons you still can’t see full follow lists on TikTok:
- Prevent harassment or bullying based on accounts followed.
- Stop unwanted solicitation from creators to those who follow them.
- Avoid awkwardness or judgement about potentially controversial or private interests.
- Encourage users to follow accounts freely without fear of embarrassment.
- Reduce harmful social comparison based on who popular users follow.
TikTok has emphasized community and entertainment over viral fame and clout chasing. Private follows seem to align with that mission and discourage use of follows as social status symbols.
Users Can Optionally Make Follows Public
While follows are private by default, TikTok does give users the option to make their follow list public if they choose. Users can change this setting in their app settings.
Some users make follows public to show their connections with certain creators or to highlight their interests. However, most users keep it private as the default.
Even with a public list though, TikTok seems to limit the number of follows shown. So you still wouldn’t necessarily see every account a user follows.
Other Social Apps Have More Follow Visibility
Compared to other social platforms, TikTok is unique in just how private it keeps follows and friend connections. On apps like Instagram and Twitter, you can see a complete list of who someone follows simply by visiting their profile.
TikTok represents a shift towards a more privacy-focused social media approach. The limited follow visibility encourages less comparison, less competition, and more genuine engagement between users based on shared interests.
TikTok Values Privacy
Ultimately, not seeing your friends’ follows highlights TikTok’s emphasis on user privacy. The company behind TikTok (ByteDance) seems to have learned from issues on other networks and made privacy a key product decision.
Private follows combined with the lack of view counts on videos and tighter comment controls create a more protected space than sites like YouTube or Instagram. The follow limitation aligns with that privacy-centric approach.
While you may want to see more of your friends’ activity, TikTok has decided that user privacy should take priority over visibility. The private follows encourage authentic engagement between users with shared interests rather than clout chasing.
So if you can’t see all your friends’ follows, rest assured TikTok has good intentions. Focus on the content you enjoy rather than comparing statuses. You may discover new interests without even knowing who else follows those creators.
