How to Make Your TikTok Account Private
One switch turns a TikTok account private. It also takes your videos out of the For You feed for everyone who doesn't follow you, which is the part people find out later.
How to make your TikTok account private: in the TikTok app, tap Profile, tap the menu button at the top, go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy, and turn on Private account. From then on, only followers you approve can watch your videos, LIVE videos and likes, and anyone new has to send a follow request.
That's TikTok's own procedure as of October 2026, and it takes effect immediately. Two limits come with it: a business account can't be made private, and a private account's videos only reach approved followers, so they stop appearing on strangers' For You feeds.
A private TikTok account is one where you approve every follower, and only those approved followers can watch what you post. TikTok's help center lists what's limited: approved followers only can watch your videos, LIVE videos, bio and likes, and other people can't Duet, Stitch or download your videos, make stickers from them, or add your posts to their Stories.
It's the right setting for an account that exists for friends and family, or for anyone who wants control over who sees them. It's the wrong setting for anyone trying to be discovered, because TikTok's main source of new viewers, the For You feed, is made of strangers.
That trade-off also applies to anything else that brings followers from outside. Follow requests on a private account are approved by hand, one at a time. Services that add to the public follower count, such as TikTok followers, need a public profile to deliver to for the same reason. If growth is the goal, private is the setting to turn off, not on.
How do you make your TikTok account private, step by step?
In the TikTok app, on Android or iPhone:
1. Tap Profile at the bottom right.
2. Tap the menu button, the three lines at the top right.
3. Tap Settings and privacy.
4. Tap Privacy.
5. Turn on Private account, and confirm if the app asks.
To go public again, follow the same steps and turn Private account off.
On a computer, the same switch lives in the privacy section of your settings on tiktok.com. If you can't find the Private account toggle at all, check your account type first: business accounts don't have it, which is covered further down.
What happens when you make your TikTok private?
The changes TikTok lists, and the ones that follow from them:
- New followers need approval. People see a Request button instead of Follow, and you accept or decline each request from your inbox.
- Only approved followers can watch your videos, LIVE videos, bio and liked videos.
- Nobody can Duet, Stitch or download your videos, make stickers from them, or add your posts to their Stories.
- Your videos only reach approved followers, so they stop being recommended to strangers.
- Reposts of your videos only reach your approved followers, since nobody else can watch them.
What stays visible
Your username, profile picture, name and follower and following counts are still visible to anyone who opens your profile. Private hides the content, not the account. How to hide followers on TikTok covers which of those lists can be hidden and which can't.
Can private TikTok videos go on the For You page?
Only for people who already follow you. The For You feed is TikTok's recommendation feed, and on a private account only approved followers can watch your videos, so there is no stranger TikTok is allowed to recommend them to.
In practice, a private account's videos reach a fraction of a public account's. Views come from your approved followers, mostly through the Following feed and your profile, and from their For You feed if TikTok chooses to show them your post there.
That's why a new video on a private account looks stuck at the number of followers you have. It isn't a shadowban; it's the setting doing what it was designed to do. What FYP means on TikTok explains how the For You feed picks videos for public accounts.
Putting #fyp or #foryou on a private video doesn't change this.
Do existing followers stay when you go private?
Yes. Switching to private doesn't remove anyone. Everyone who followed you before the switch is treated as approved and can still watch your videos. The privacy setting only filters people who follow from now on.
If the reason you want to go private is one or two specific followers, the switch won't deal with them. Remove them from your followers list if the option is offered there, or block them; how to block someone on TikTok covers what each side sees when you do.
The opposite move is also clean. Turning private off later doesn't unfollow anyone; it just stops new followers needing approval.
Can people still find a private account?
Yes. A private account still appears in search by username and name, and anyone can open the profile and see the picture, bio line, username and counts. They just can't watch the videos without being approved.
If you'd rather not be suggested to people at all, check the Suggest your account to others setting in Privacy. It controls whether TikTok recommends your account to contacts, Facebook friends, mutual connections and people who open links to your profile. It's a separate switch from Private account, and turning both on is the most closed a TikTok profile gets.
Your likes are their own setting too. On a private account only approved followers can see your liked videos, and whether people can see your likes on TikTok shows how to hide them from everyone.
Can business accounts be private?
No. As of October 2026, TikTok's help article on account types lists going private as a General account feature and says Verified Business Accounts stay public. A brand profile exists to be seen, and TikTok doesn't offer the private switch on it.
If you see no Private account toggle in Privacy, you're almost certainly on a business account. To make it private you'd first switch to a General account, in Settings and privacy, then Account. TikTok warns that a business account's verification isn't saved when you switch away, and a General account regains the full music library at the same time.
Are under-16 accounts private by default?
Yes. On January 13, 2021, TikTok changed the default for every registered account aged 13 to 15 to private. The same update turned Suggest your account to others off by default for that age group, limited comments to Friends or No One, and limited Duet and Stitch to content made by users 16 and over. Downloads of videos made by under-16s were switched off too.
A teen can still choose to make the account public, but the starting point is private. If your teenager's videos only reach their friends, that default is usually why.
For adults the default is public, and the choice is the one this guide began with: privacy or reach. If you choose reach and want the profile's public count to look established while you post, buying TikTok followers adds to that number using only your @, on a public account. Every TikTok service is on the TikTok page.
Questions people ask about private TikTok accounts
How do I make my TikTok account private?
Tap Profile, tap the menu at the top, go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy, and turn on Private account. New followers will need your approval to see your videos.
Can people see my TikTok videos if my account is private?
Only approved followers can watch them. Others can still see your username, picture, bio and counts, but not your videos, LIVE videos or likes.
Do private TikTok videos get views from the For You page?
Only from your approved followers. Strangers can't watch a private account's videos, so they aren't recommended to them on the For You feed.
Why can't I make my TikTok account private?
You're most likely on a business account. TikTok says Verified Business Accounts stay public; switch to a General account under Settings and privacy, then Account, to get the Private account option.
Will my followers be removed if I go private on TikTok?
No. Existing followers keep following you and can still watch your videos. Only new followers need approval. Remove or block specific followers separately.
Are TikTok accounts for 13 to 15 year olds private?
Yes, by default. Since January 13, 2021, TikTok sets accounts aged 13 to 15 to private and turns off suggesting them to others; the user can change it.
Keep reading
- TikTok followers — If you pick reach over privacy, TikTok followers add to the public count with just your @.
- How to hide followers on TikTok — Which lists can be hidden, and which stay public.
- What FYP means on TikTok — How the For You feed picks videos for public accounts.
- Can people see your likes on TikTok? — Hiding liked videos, on public and private accounts.