Finding someone on TikTok can allow you to connect or reconnect with friends, family members, acquaintances, crushes, and more. With over 1 billion monthly active users, there’s a good chance someone you know has a TikTok account. This guide will provide helpful tips on the various ways to find someone on TikTok, whether you only know their username or have no information besides their name. Tracking down someone’s TikTok can let you glimpse into their life and interests, potentially opening up opportunities to reach out and strengthen your relationship.
Search for Username
One of the easiest ways to find someone on TikTok is to search for their exact username. To do this, open the TikTok app and tap the search bar at the top. Type in the full username of the person you want to find. TikTok will show results for accounts with matching usernames.
For example, searching for “@charlidamelio” will show Charli D’Amelio’s profile as the top result. If you only know part of the username, you can try searching those characters and scrolling through results. TikTok’s search is case-insensitive, so “Charli” will return the same results as “charli.”
You can also search for usernames on TikTok’s website without an account. Go to https://www.tiktok.com and type a username into the search bar. This direct username search is the simplest way to find a specific person on TikTok.
Search Page
The TikTok search page allows you to search for specific users by their username or name. To access the search page, tap the magnifying glass icon at the top right of the TikTok app. This will open up the search bar. Type in the username or name of the person you want to find. TikTok will show results for accounts with matching usernames as well as accounts whose name or bio includes your search term.
You can scroll through the results to try to find the specific account you’re looking for. Tapping on a result will take you to that user’s profile page so you can confirm it’s the right person. The search page is a handy way to find someone if you know their username or name but don’t have their profile link. It’s also useful for discovering accounts similar to the one you’re searching for.
According to TikTok’s Help Center, the search feature allows you to search for users, videos, sounds, LIVEs, and hashtags. So it can be a powerful discovery tool beyond just finding people.
Search Hashtags
One way to find someone on TikTok is by searching hashtags and keywords related to that person’s interests. TikTok allows you to search and discover videos tagged with specific hashtags. To find hashtags, tap the “Discover” tab on the bottom toolbar of the TikTok app. This will show trending hashtags and video previews tagged with those hashtags.
If you know the interests of the person you are trying to find, search hashtags related to those interests. For example, if they like basketball, search hashtags like #basketball, #nba, #hoops, etc. Going through videos tagged with their interest hashtags increases the chance you will come across videos they have liked or commented on.
You can also tap on a specific hashtag to see an endless feed of videos tagged with it. Spend time scrolling through the hashtag feed while looking at usernames of people who have posted. With some persistence, you may be able to find the person you are searching for.
According to A Guide to Using Hashtags on TikTok, “To search hashtags on TikTok, open the TikTok app and tap ‘Discover’ on the bottom of the screen. This page will show you previews of videos tagged with trending hashtags.” Focusing your search on relevant hashtags is a good way to increase your chances of finding someone on TikTok.
Search for Videos
You can find someone on TikTok by searching through videos they have been tagged in or appeared in. To do this:
1. Tap the search icon at the top of the screen and select “Videos” from the dropdown menu.
2. Enter keywords related to the person, such as their name, username, hashtag they commonly use, etc. You can also search for specific videos you know they were featured in.
3. Scroll through the search results and look for videos featuring the person. Pay attention to the captions, tags and comments for clues that they appear in a video.
4. If you find a video with the person, tap on it to be taken to their profile. You can then follow them or send a message if you desire.
Searching through videos can be an effective way to find someone’s TikTok account if you don’t know their exact username. Just be sure to use descriptive keywords and thoroughly look through video results. (Source: https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/exploring-videos/discover-and-search)
Contacts
One easy way to find someone you know on TikTok is by using your phone contacts. TikTok has a feature that allows you to find and connect with friends and contacts who also use TikTok. Here’s how it works:
Go to your profile page and tap “Add Friends”. Then tap “Find” next to Contacts. TikTok will access your phone’s contacts and show you any contacts who also have TikTok accounts. This makes it easy to find people you already know, like friends or family members. According to TikTok’s support site, you just need to allow TikTok access to your contacts when prompted.
Once you find contacts with TikTok accounts, you can easily follow them or send a message to connect. Using your existing contacts is a simple way to quickly find people you know who are on TikTok without having to search manually.
Suggested
TikTok suggests accounts to follow that you may know in real life through various methods. One way is by looking at your contacts and connections on your phone. If someone in your contacts is already using TikTok, their account may show up in your “Suggested” section even if you are not friends on the app Source. TikTok can also make suggestions based on mutual connections – if you and another user follow some of the same accounts or have overlapping followers, you may be suggested to each other Source. This has raised some privacy concerns, as accounts can be suggested to you without your consent or knowledge Source. However, you can turn off suggested accounts in your settings if desired.
Direct Message
One way to message someone directly on TikTok is by using the platform’s direct messaging feature. To send a DM on TikTok, you need to know the exact username of the person you want to contact. Here’s how to DM someone on TikTok using their username:
Go to the profile of the person you want to message. At the top right of their profile, tap the three-dot menu icon. Select ‘Message’ from the menu. This will open up a messaging thread with that user. Type your message and tap the send arrow to send it.
Direct messaging on TikTok works similarly to other social platforms. You can have ongoing conversations and send text, emojis, images and video messages. According to Alphr, you can DM someone on TikTok even if they don’t follow you back. However, you both need to have messaging enabled in your account settings to send direct messages back and forth.
The key is knowing the exact username of the person, as that’s required to initiate a DM conversation on TikTok. With the right username, sending a direct message allows you to contact TikTok users privately.
Comments
Searching through the comments on someone’s posts can help you find mutual connections. When you click on a video, you can scroll down to view all the comments. Look for familiar usernames of people you may know who have commented on that person’s videos. You can also try searching for the username of the person you’re looking for in the comments of videos from people you are mutually connected to. For example, if you and John are friends, you could look through the comments on John’s videos to see if the person you’re searching for has commented. This can help you confirm connections.
Example: “I searched the comments on my friend John’s TikTok videos and noticed a few comments from the user I was trying to find. Since John and I have some mutual friends, seeing that username comment on his videos helped me confirm we have overlapping connections.”
Conclusion
In summary, there are several key methods to find someone on TikTok:
You can search directly for their username or hashtag if you know what it is. TikTok’s search page allows looking up specific accounts. Looking through hashtags and videos related to the person’s interests can also help uncover their account.
Checking your own contacts and suggestions from TikTok is another approach. You may already be connected to them. TikTok’s algorithm provides recommendations based on your connections and interests.
Messaging the person directly, or commenting on a video asking if it’s them, is the most direct approach. This of course requires you to have some identifying information about the person in order to reach out.
With clever use of search filters, hashtags, contacts, and some trial and error, it is often possible to find someone on TikTok even without knowing their exact username.