How to make your TikTok account private

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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. Once you do that, 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 can be done in a snap.

Making your TikTok account private

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

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

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

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.

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 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. 

Also, it’s important to note that private TikTok accounts are different than 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: Negatives of a private TikTok account

There are several disadvantages to 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 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.

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.

Additionally, not being able to Duet or Stitch videos from the creator is a good sign it is private.

Control who can see or interact with your TikTok account

In addition to making your TikTok account private, you can also limit the audience for your videos via your Privacy settings in the mobile app.

With this, people will be able to search for your account, but you can limit what they see and how they interact with it.

You can still choose who can comment on your videos, DM you, and whether or not your account should be suggested to others.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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