TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in the world, with millions of users sharing short videos every day. While it’s a fun platform, some users prefer to keep their activity, including who they follow, private. By hiding your following list, you can protect your privacy and control what other users can see about your interactions. This guide will walk you through how to make your following list private on TikTok.
Why You Might Want to Make Your Following List Private
Making your following list private on TikTok can help you:
- Protect your privacy and online activity
- Prevent other users from seeing your friends, interests, or connections
- Avoid unwanted attention or harassment
- Maintain discretion if you are following influencers, brands, or specific communities
- Keep your TikTok strategy private, especially for creators
Step 1: Open TikTok and Go to Your Profile
- Launch the TikTok app on your phone.
- Tap the profile icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. This takes you to your profile page.
Step 2: Access Privacy Settings
- On your profile page, tap the three-line menu (hamburger icon) at the top right corner.
- Select Settings and Privacy from the menu.
- Under the Privacy section, tap Privacy to access your privacy options.
Step 3: Set Your Following List to Private
Currently, TikTok does not allow you to hide your following list entirely from yourself in the same way as some platforms like Instagram. However, you can control who sees the list by adjusting your account privacy:
- Toggle Private Account: Switch your account to private so that only approved followers can see your videos and follow/following information.
- To do this, in the Privacy section, turn on Private Account. This ensures that your following and followers are visible only to people you approve.
- Limit Interactions:
- In the Privacy settings, you can also adjust who can comment, message, or view your liked videos. These steps help reduce exposure.
Step 4: Remove Specific Followers (Optional)
If your goal is to restrict certain users from seeing your following list:
- Go to Followers on your profile.
- Tap the three dots next to a follower you want to remove.
- Select Remove this follower.
- Once removed, the person will not be able to see your private content if your account is set to private.
Step 5: Additional Privacy Measures
To enhance privacy further:
- Turn off “Suggest your account to others”: This reduces the chance that people will find your profile via TikTok recommendations.
- Hide liked videos: In Settings > Privacy > Who can view your liked videos, set it to Only Me.
- Review blocked accounts: Block users who you do not want interacting with or seeing your activity.
- Even with a private account, TikTok does not allow you to completely hide your following list from approved followers. They will still be able to see who you follow.
- TikTok’s privacy policies may change, so it’s a good idea to check for updates in the Settings and Privacy section.
- If you are very concerned about privacy, consider limiting the number of people you approve as followers.
ALSO READ: How to make a story on TikTok
