What Does “Friends Only” Mean on TikTok?
When you create a TikTok account, you are free to choose who can and cannot watch your content on the TikTok app.
One of these privacy features is the “Friends Only” option, but how does that feature work?
Users are often confused with the “Friend” term on TikTok, so let us clarify this information for you.
In today’s post, we will talk about:
- What does “Friends Only” mean on TikTok?;
- How to use the “Friends Only” feature on TikTok;
- How to see certain uploads published by a TikTok friend.
What Does “Friends Only” Mean On TikTok?
“Friends Only” on TikTok means that only your friends will be able to watch a specific TikTok video on your profile.
On top of that, more than being a simple TikTok video privacy feature, you can also mark a person as a friend, and only the people you select will be able to interact with you.
TikTok is not the only social media platform to implement a similar feature.
Users on Instagram can add and manage other’s friends through the Close Friends feature, for example.
TikTok Friends vs. TikTok Followers
There seems to be confusion around the terms “Friends on TikTok” and “Followers on TikTok.”
Your followers on TikTok are all the users who have decided to follow your TikTok account. They appear on your Follower List if you have your profile set to public.
You can see who shared your TikTok if they are part of your followers, which is a feature that many creators use.
On the other hand, your Friends on TikTok are the people that follow you, and you follow back.
When you sign up for TikTok, the TikTok app lets you find friends in common through your phone.
If you follow these people, and then they follow you back as well, they will immediately become part of your TikTok friends.
How to Set “Friends Only” On TikTok Videos
The “Friends Only” option on TikTok videos is a great way to decide all the people that can watch your content.
Just like setting your account private, which allows you to hide TikToks and hide followers on TikTok as well, the “Friends Only” option is just another privacy setting alternative that you can enable.
- Go to your TikTok profile, and look for a TikTok video;
- On the video, select the three dots that appear on the screen, and tap on the one icon that shows a padlock, right next to the shoulder icon;
- Here, you will see three privacy settings: Public, Only Me, and Friends;
- Tap on Friends, and from now on, that TikTok video will only show to your TikTok friends.
You can do this even if you don’t have a private account on TikTok and decide to have a public profile instead.
This allows you to temporarily hide a video from your TikTok account page if you want, so it is indeed pretty useful.
How to See Friends Only List On TikTok
Now you know it - only people you add to your Friend List will be able to interact with the content as you decide it.
But how do you see your list of friends? There is no such a list of friends on TikTok, but there are a couple of workarounds that you can employ to find your TikTok friends.
Step 1: Go to Your TikTok Profile Page
Open TikTok on your mobile device, and at the very bottom of the home page, you will see two icons: your profile picture, and the message option.
Tap on your profile icon (the other icon) and you will be redirected to your profile.
Step 2: Tap On Your TikTok Followers List
Once you are on your profile page, you will see a hamburger icon at the top right corner of the screen.
Under that icon, you will find your Following Lists - tap on them.
Step 3: Check Your Friends List On TikTok
All you need to do is to scroll down until you find a person with the Friends tag right next to their name. You can also see if someone is your friend by looking for them on the search bar.
Alternative: Check Friend’s List Through TikTok DMs
Alternatively, you can also check your friends on TikTok by going to your DMs:
- Open TikTok, and tap on the DM icon;
- Here, go to your latest messages on your Account Activity tab;
- Only the people that you are friends with can send you DMs, so all the messages that you receive here are from friends only.
How to Watch Only Friends Videos On TikTok
There’s a dedicated friends tab on TikTok with a personalized feed dedicated to showing your friend’s content only.
You can open it like this:
- Launch TikTok, and tap on the “Now” icon;
- Side scroll from Now to Friends;
- Here, you will see your friends’ content, and you can fully delete friends from your list if you want.
That’s all you need to know about TikTok friends! Get more useful guides here, at GrowFollowing.
FAQ
Can You Set TikTok Comments to “Friends Only?”
Yes - just go to your Settings, Privacy, and tap on Comments. Here, select “Followers that you follow back” - this feature will make it so that only your friends can comment on your videos from now on.
Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter here at GrowFollowing. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.