How-To

How to make your TikTok account private

TikTok allows you to make your account private at any time. Here’s how to set it up.

by
Joy Okumoko
July 10, 2022

Image: KnowTechie

TikTok accounts are set to public by default. This means that anyone on or off TikTok can view your profile and your videos.

Similarly, if your privacy settings permit, other TikTok users can Duet, Stitch, and download your TikTok videos at will.

However, if this gives you the creeps, you can prevent it by making your TikTok account private. Thereafter, only your existing followers and those you approve can view and interact with your account.

TikTok allows you to make your account private at any time and it’s as simple as ABC.

Making your TikTok account private

You can make your TikTok account private using the web (desktop and mobile web) or using the TikTok mobile app.

How to make your TikTok account private (Desktop)

Here’s how to set your TikTok account to private via your desktop browser.

1. Sign in to your TikTok account on your preferred desktop browser and mouse over your profile picture in the top-right corner of your screen.

2. Click on Settings from the pop-up menu

tiktok private how-to on desktop — Image: KnowTechie

3. Go to Privacy and enable the Private account switch. It will turn green indicating that your TikTok account is now private

tiktok private desktop how to — Image: KnowTechie

4. To make your TikTok account public again, simply toggle off the Private account switch

tiktok private account toggle — Image: KnowTechie

5. Read the warning message and click Confirm. The slider will now change from green back to gray.

Note that if you make your private TikTok account public again, all pending follow requests will be automatically approved.

How to make your TikTok account private (Mobile app)

Here’s how to make your TikTok account private using the TikTok mobile app. The process is similar for Android and iOS.

Launch TikTok on your Android phone or iPhone
Tap on Profile in the bottom-right corner of your screen
Then, tap on the three-line hamburger menu in the top-right corner
Tap on Settings and privacy
Under Account, tap on Privacy
Toggle the Private account switch to your right and watch it turn green
To revert back to a public account, tap on the Private account switch
Review the warning message and tap Switch and voilà, your account is public again

And there you have it! You have successfully turned your TikTok account private.

Pros and cons of a private TikTok account

So, should you make your TikTok account public or private? Honestly, that’s up to you. But to help you decide, we’ve put together the following pros and cons of a private TikTok account.

Pros: Benefits of a private TikTok account

The primary benefit of a private TikTok account is that you can control who can see your videos, your Lives, bio, likes, the people you’re following, and your followers.

The latter is different from blocking someone on TikTok. Making your TikTok account private also helps you to maintain a small circle with more privacy.

Therefore, if you’re privacy-first, you should consider making your TikTok account private.

Cons: Demerits of a private TikTok account

There are several disadvantages of keeping your TikTok account private. The most obvious ones are a limited number of followers and video views.

Likes and comments will also be limited to your circle. Most importantly, you won’t be eligible to make money on TikTok like other influencers.

Going private will also prevent others from dueting and stitching your videos, or joining your Live videos. You’ll thus run the risk of recording little engagement.

If you want to be TikTok-famous, you may want to reconsider.

How to identify a private TikTok account

So, how do you identify a private TikTok account? Well, in Nas’ voice, “it ain’t hard to tell.”

Simply open TikTok and search for any username. If the account is private, you’ll get a message like the one shown below.

private account warning — Image: KnowTechie

Also, a TikTok account is probably private if you can’t follow it, view its videos, Live, bio, likes, followers, and people it is following. Or if you can’t Duet, Stitch, or download its videos.