If you search for something on TikTok and get zero results, even for very generic terms, there are a few possible reasons why TikTok search isn’t showing any videos.
Your account or device settings
The most common reason TikTok search isn’t showing videos is because of your personal account settings or device settings blocking certain content. Here are some things to check:
- Your account’s digital wellbeing settings – TikTok allows you to limit the appearance of certain content in your feed and search results. Check your account’s digital wellbeing settings in your profile and make sure search filtering options are disabled.
- Your device’s restrictions or parental controls – If you’re using a device with parental controls or content restrictions enabled, some search results may be blocked. Check your device settings.
- Your account’s restricted mode – TikTok has a “Restricted Mode” to limit mature content. Check your account settings to disable restricted mode.
- Your account’s age rating – TikTok filters search results based on the age rating set for your account. Make sure your account’s age is set appropriately.
- Your location settings – TikTok customizes search results based on location. Ensure location access is enabled for the TikTok app if you want locally relevant results.
Search term relevance
If your TikTok settings are fine, the issue may be that your search terms are too broad, vague or irrelevant to yield video results. Here are some tips:
- Use specific keywords – Search for precise keywords rather than broad terms.
- Try trending hashtags – Look up currently popular hashtags that are likely to have many associated videos.
- Check your spelling – Make sure you are spelling keywords correctly.
- Search in different languages – Not all video content may be in your language.
Restricted keywords
Certain keywords or hashtags may yield limited results because TikTok restricts them. This could be due to:
- Legal compliance – Terms related to regulated products, services or content may be restricted.
- Harmful content – Keywords associated with dangerous or unethical content may be blocked.
- Spam/abuse prevention – Commonly spammed terms may be limited.
- Relevance – Extremely vague or irrelevant keywords restricted to improve search quality.
If you suspect a term is being restricted, try using alternative synonymous keywords.
Copyrighted content
Videos containing copyrighted material are often removed from TikTok search results. Reasons include:
- Music copyright – Videos using copyrighted songs may get blocked.
- Image/video copyright – Reused content from other sources is usually removed.
- Trademark issues – Videos about certain brands/products may be limited.
Search for public domain or originally created content instead of copyrighted material.
Algorithmic curation
TikTok’s search algorithm curates results based on relevance and quality. Some reasons you may get no results include:
- No matching videos – There may be no videos for very specific searches.
- Poor quality videos – Low-quality videos with few views/likes may not appear in search.
- Irrelevant results – Videos unrelated to the search term are filtered out.
- Moderation issues – Problematic videos are removed from search results.
Try broadening your search terms or improving search phrase relevance.
Account shadow banning
If your TikTok account has been shadow banned, your searches may show limited results. Possible reasons include:
- Community guideline violations – Multiple flagged videos or comments can cause shadow bans.
- Inauthentic activity – Using bots/fake accounts/purchased followers can get accounts banned.
- Reporting by other users – Getting repeatedly reported can limit account visibility.
Appeal shadow bans and adhere to community guidelines to restore your account’s search functionality.
Server issues
In rare cases, server outages at TikTok can also cause search issues. If searches aren’t working for anyone globally, it’s likely a technical problem on TikTok’s end. Try again later.
What to do if your TikTok search shows no videos
If TikTok search isn’t showing you any results, here are some troubleshooting steps:
- Check your account, device and location settings. Disable restrictions filtering search results.
- Use precise, trending and properly spelled keywords. Avoid restricted terms.
- Search for original content not containing copyrighted material.
- Broaden your search terms if they are too narrow.
- Verify your account is in good standing and not shadow banned.
- Try again later if TikTok is having server issues.
Following these tips should help surface more relevant videos and hashtags in TikTok search. If the problem persists, contact TikTok support for assistance in troubleshooting your account and search settings.
