How to Make Your TikTok Account Private

How to Go Private on TikTok

It only takes a few taps in the TikTok app:

1. Tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top.
3. Tap Settings and privacy, then Privacy.
4. Turn on Private account.

If you're 13 to 17, your account may be private already. TikTok makes accounts private by default for anyone who signs up at that age.

Then look yourself up in the box below to see what strangers see now. A private account shows only its name, photo and counts there, with a note that it's private.

We keep profiles for a short while, so a change you just made can take up to half an hour to show up.

What Changes When Your TikTok Is Private

From then on, only people you approve can see these:

• Your videos and LIVE videos.
• Your bio and the videos you've liked.
• Your followers and following lists.
• Your reposts, on your profile and in For You feeds.
• Your Stories.

Every post becomes followers-only at most. On a private account, the choices for who can see a post are Followers, Friends or Only you.

Others also can't Duet or Stitch your videos, download your posts or add them to their own Stories.

Messages change too. People who don't follow you can't send you message requests.

What Stays Public on a Private TikTok Account

Going private doesn't make you invisible. TikTok says your name, username and profile photo are always visible to anyone, on or off TikTok, and people can still search for your account.

Your follower, following and like counts usually show as well. We checked this while writing about how to see a private TikTok account.

TikTok may also keep suggesting your account to people, though anyone who wants to follow you still needs your approval. To cut down on that, go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy, then Suggest your account to others, and turn the options off.

Even with all of them off, TikTok says it may still suggest you to people you follow or interact with.

What Happens to Your Current Followers?

TikTok's help pages don't spell out what happens to people who already follow you when you switch.

If there's someone you don't want watching, remove them as a follower. On a private account, they'd have to send a new follow request to follow you again.

1. Tap Profile at the bottom, then Followers.
2. Tap the More actions button next to the person, then tap Remove this follower.

Blocking goes further. Someone you block can't view your videos or send you messages.

How to Make a Single TikTok Video Private

You don't have to lock the whole account to hide one video. Any post can have its own audience:

1. Tap Profile at the bottom and open the post.
2. Tap the More options … button on the side of the post.
3. Tap Privacy settings at the bottom. You may need to swipe left.
4. Choose who can see it. Only you hides it from everyone else.

Friends means followers you follow back.

Changing who can see a post doesn't reset its view count.

For a new post, you'll find the same choice under Settings on the preview screen, before you post it.

TikTok's Help Center only describes changing posts one at a time. To hide them all at once, a private account is the switch it gives you.

How to Hide Your Liked Videos on TikTok

Your liked videos are probably hidden already. TikTok hides them from your profile by default when you create an account.

To check or change who can see them:

1. Tap Profile at the bottom, then the Menu ☰ button.
2. Tap Settings and privacy, then Privacy.
3. Tap Liked videos and choose Only you.

Reposts have a guide of their own: how to hide reposts on TikTok.

How to Make Your TikTok Public Again

Go back to Settings and privacy, then Privacy, and turn Private account off.

Then anyone can follow you, and anyone can watch your videos, on TikTok or off it. TikTok notes your posts can even turn up in search engines and news sites.

Our anonymous TikTok viewer shows your profile the way a stranger sees it, so it's an easy way to check the switch worked.

Questions

Sources

Checked against these pages on October 7, 2026.

• TikTok Help Center: Choosing between a private or public account · Teen privacy and safety settings · Post privacy settings · Repost · Manage direct messages · Suggested accounts · Removing followers · Liking
• TikTok Newsroom: Curating your following