TikTok is a popular short-form video app owned by ByteDance that allows users to create, share, and discover 15 to 60 second videos. As of 2022, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally. Like other social media platforms, TikTok has profile pages that allow users to share information about themselves and view others’ profiles.
A common question on TikTok is whether you can see who views your profile or if other users can see that you viewed their profile. The short answer is that by default, TikTok does not notify users when someone views their profile. However, there are some exceptions, analytics tools, and techniques people use to try to detect profile visitors.
Can People See Who Views Their TikTok Profile?
No, TikTok does not notify users of profile views by default. When someone views your TikTok profile, you will not receive any notification informing you of the view. Likewise, when you view someone else’s profile on TikTok, they are not notified or made aware of your viewing activity (1).
TikTok does have an optional profile view history setting that allows you to see who has viewed your profile, but enabling it also means consenting to allow others to see when you’ve viewed their profiles. This is an opt-in feature that is disabled by default (2).
So unless a user has specifically enabled the profile view history setting in their account privacy settings, TikTok profiles are viewed anonymously by default without either party being notified. Your browsing of other TikTok profiles remains private (3).
Sources:
(1) https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/29/tiktok-profile-views/
(2) https://www.reddit.com/r/Tiktokhelp/comments/tc0o1i/does_tiktok_tell_the_profile_when_you_view_their/
(3) https://support.tiktok.com/en/account-and-privacy/account-privacy-settings/tiktok-profile-visit-history
Exceptions
While normally profile views remain private on TikTok, there are some exceptions when viewing certain content can reveal your profile to others:
Live streams and duets – If you view someone’s live stream or participate in a duet, your profile icon may show up briefly to the creator, indicating you were there.
So in certain interactive situations, viewing some content could make your profile visible. But regular profile viewing remains anonymous.
Profile View Counts
While TikTok users cannot see exactly who has viewed their profile, they can see the total number of profile views their account has received. This profile view count is displayed on a user’s profile page, providing a general sense of how many times their profile has been viewed.
However, the profile view count does not show the usernames or account information of who specifically viewed your profile. It simply displays the total number of views your profile has gotten over time.
So while you can see that your profile has been viewed 100 times, for example, there is no data showing precisely which 100 accounts viewed your profile. The profile view count metric gives users a high-level sense of their profile traffic, but does not provide any details about who exactly has viewed their profile.
Making Your Profile Private
One way to limit who can see your profile and activity on TikTok is to make your account private. On a private account, only approved followers can view your videos, likes, and follower list (Choosing between a private or public account).
However, going private does disable some TikTok features. You won’t appear on public account recommendation lists, your videos won’t be eligible for the “For You” feed, and you can’t participate in hashtag or sound pages. There are pros and cons to having a private account.
Using Multiple Accounts
One way to view someone’s TikTok profile anonymously is by using multiple accounts. TikTok allows users to have up to 3 accounts on one device [1]. You can easily switch between these accounts in the app [2]. This makes it easy to use one account for your normal use, while using another account to anonymously view other profiles without anyone knowing.
With multiple accounts, your viewing activity and likes are completely separate. The user you are viewing will have no way of knowing your alternate accounts are connected. This provides a simple way to browse TikTok secretly. Just make sure not to follow or engage with the same people between accounts, as this could reveal the connection.
TikTok Analytics
TikTok provides creators with analytics about the traffic to their profile and content. In the TikTok creator portal, users can view insights like follower growth, video views, profile views, likes, comments, and shares over custom time periods (TikTok Creator Portal). However, this data is presented in aggregate – there are no details about which specific users viewed your profile or content.
The profile view count shown in TikTok Analytics does not indicate who viewed your profile, only the total number of views. So while TikTok Analytics provides useful aggregated metrics, it does not allow you to see which individual users have visited your profile.
Finding Out Who Viewed You
Some third-party apps claim they can show TikTok users who has viewed their profile. However, this likely involves violations of TikTok’s terms of service. TikTok has stated that “Third-party apps that claim to help you view profiles without consent undermine people’s privacy and violate our policies.” Using such apps could put your account at risk of being banned.
While some apps promise to reveal your profile visitors, they cannot actually access non-public data from TikTok. Any user information they display is likely fabricated. It’s best to avoid these questionable apps and not expect to see exactly who viewed your TikTok profile.
Stalking and Harassment
While checking who viewed your profile can seem harmless, there are some concerns around potential stalking and harassment. TikTok has faced criticism over how its data practices and design could enable abusive behavior.
For example, a man was recently charged with stalking a popular local TikTok star after allegedly using the platform’s data to track her down in real life (source). Some worry stalkers could leverage profile view data to target and harass users, especially younger audiences.
TikTok has been working to improve safety features and crack down on abusive accounts. However, the ability to see precisely who viewed your profile raises alarms about enabling stalking or harassment. While likely harmless in most cases, this capability could be abused by bad actors in extreme situations.
Conclusions
In summary, there are a few key things to know about who can see your TikTok profile views:
– By default, TikTok users cannot see who specifically has viewed their profile. However, if both users have enabled profile view history, they can see views from each other.
– Making your profile private prevents non-followers from seeing any of your content. This also prevents them from seeing that they viewed your profile.
– Having multiple TikTok accounts allows you to view profiles anonymously. The profile owner will not know which account viewed them unless you also view from your main account.
– While TikTok’s analytics provide profile view counts, this does not show who specifically viewed your profile. There is no way to uncover identities unless both have enabled view history.
In conclusion, TikTok profile stalking is difficult unless both parties have enabled the view history feature. Users concerned about anonymity are better off using private accounts and alternative accounts when viewing other profiles.
