TikTok privacy settings: locking down your account
## Who this guide is for
TikTok privacy settings
Who this guide is for
This guide is for TikTok users and parents who want to reduce visibility, tracking, and contact risk without deleting the app immediately.
It fits especially:
- teenagers using TikTok themselves
- parents reviewing a child’s TikTok setup
- readers who want the biggest privacy and safety settings first on a very permissive platform
What you gain, and what it costs
If you change these settings, you usually gain:
- less public exposure
- fewer routes for unwanted contact
- less ad targeting and some reduction in unnecessary data collection
What it costs:
- a few minutes of setup
- some discovery and engagement features becoming weaker
- the reality that TikTok remains a data-hungry platform even after you harden it
When this is overkill
If the account belongs to an older teen using TikTok casually, you may only need the highest-impact settings first: private account, DMs, visibility, and location.
If your actual answer is “this platform should not be on the device at all,” then settings are not the full solution. Hardening TikTok is risk reduction, not the same as avoiding TikTok entirely.
TikTok defaults to maximum data collection and maximum visibility. Without changes, an account is public, location is accessible to the app, and data is used for personalised advertising.
These are the settings to adjust — for your own account or for your child’s account.
Set account to private
This is the most important setting for young people.
App → Profile → Menu (three lines) → Settings and privacy → Privacy → Private account: on
With a private account, only approved followers can see your videos. New followers must be approved first.
Who can see what?
Go to Settings and privacy → Privacy.
| Setting | Recommended for young people |
|---|---|
| Profile videos | Friends |
| Liked videos | Only me |
| Likes | Only me |
| Followers / Following | Friends |
| Suggest account to others | Off |
Restrict direct messages
Privacy → Direct messages → Who can send you messages: Friends (or: No one)
For children under 16, direct messages are disabled entirely by TikTok, so there is nothing to configure. For 16-17 year olds, the default is already No one. Check that it stays that way, especially on older accounts.
Also turn off Read receipts — so the sender can’t see when a message was read.
Disable Duet and Stitch
Duet and Stitch allow others to reuse your videos in their own content.
Privacy → Duet → No onePrivacy → Stitch → No one
Revoke location access
TikTok requests location access for “regional content”. This is not necessary for normal use.
iOS: Settings → TikTok → Location → Never Android: Settings → Apps → TikTok → Permissions → Location → Deny
Turn off personalised ads
Settings and privacy → Privacy → Ads → Ad personalisation: off
TikTok will still show you ads, but no longer based on your behaviour outside the app.
Screen time and Family Pairing
For parents who want to manage their child’s usage:
Settings and privacy → Screen time
- Screen time limit: set a daily limit that fits your situation; TikTok sets this to one hour per day by default for ages 13-17
- Restricted mode: filters content that may not be suitable for all viewers
**Family Pairing:**Settings and privacy → Family Pairing
Link your parent account to your child’s account. You can then manage several settings from your own phone, including screen time, private account, direct messages, follower visibility, notification timing, and keyword filtering.
Download and delete your data
TikTok collects a large amount of data. You can request a copy:
Settings and privacy → Security → Download your data
Want to stop? Delete the account entirely: Settings and privacy → Manage account → Delete account
Note: deletion takes 30 days. During that period you can cancel the deletion.
Alternative: avoiding TikTok entirely
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Multiple European governments have banned TikTok on government devices due to concerns about data sharing with the Chinese government.
For young people who want social media but less surveillance: consider platforms without algorithmic timelines, or discuss usage and risks together.
Next step
Profiles
- Profile: family and children — wider agreements and technical measures for the household
- The normal baseline — baseline steps for everyone
Go further
- Discord security for young people — security on the other platform young people use heavily