Common myths about TikTok

Plenty of half-true claims circulate about TikTok: some were true in the past, others generalize from one country's rules, and some are spread deliberately by scammers. Below are the most common ones, each with a short look at the facts.

“No one can see that I viewed their profile”

Not always true. TikTok has a profile view history: anyone who turns it on can see the visitors of the past 30 days on their profile. The feature is mutual: a visit is only shown if both the visitor and the visited account have it turned on, and anyone who turns it off cannot see who visited them either. It is off by default and is only available to users aged at least 16 with fewer than 5,000 followers. The switch is under Settings and privacy → “Privacy” → “Profile views”; there is also a separate post view history for published videos.

• External apps cannot reveal more either: sites and apps promising to “show who viewed your profile” have no access to TikTok's data, but often ask for login details. Details: Common scams on TikTok.

“TikTok is banned everywhere”

Not true. The app is completely banned in only a few countries, the best-known example being India (since 2020). Bans on official devices are much more common: the governments of many countries and the EU institutions have prohibited TikTok from running on staff's work phones and computers. This does not affect private use, and employers and schools can also set rules for their own devices. TikTok has not disappeared in the United States either: in January 2026, the US business was transferred to a majority American-owned joint venture, and the app continues to work.

“The videos of a private account never get out”

Not true. The videos of a private account are only seen by approved followers, but they can take screenshots or screen recordings and send them anywhere. In addition:

• The profile photo, name, username and bio are visible to everyone, even with a private account.
• Anything posted while the account was public could be downloaded or shared by anyone until then; switching to private does not undo this.
• It is worth reviewing the follower list from time to time and removing unknown people.

“A video that was recorded but not posted does not go to TikTok”

Partly true. Drafts are stored on the phone, in the app's data, not in the account: they do not appear on another device, and they can be lost when the app is deleted or the cache is completely cleared. That is why it is worth saving an important draft to the phone's gallery as well. A video with “Only you” visibility is different: it is a posted video that others just cannot see, so it is uploaded to TikTok's servers, and the Community Guidelines apply to it too. According to TikTok's privacy policy, it may also collect data about content used while editing, so anything that should never leave one's hands is better not edited in TikTok.

“The #fyp hashtag gets a video into the For You feed”

Not true. TikTok's recommendation system looks at how viewers react to the video (whether they watch it to the end, share it, comment), and the #fyp or #foryou tag does not change that. A few hashtags that fit the content help with search; many general tags do not. If a video gets no viewers at all, the reasons are explained here: 0 views on TikTok: why a video gets no viewers.

“TikTok can be used under 13 if an older age is entered”

Not true. TikTok's minimum age is 13, and a false date of birth is not a lasting solution: TikTok checks the age of suspicious accounts and removes the accounts of users younger than 13. Accounts of 13 to 17-year-olds work with stricter default settings, which a parent can further adjust with Family Pairing.