How to protect your TikTok account

Every day, millions worldwide watch short-form videos on TikTok and share their own clips. Some do it to be creative and sociable; others are seeking popularity. But as in any online community, TikTok is not just a platform for cool bloggers and their fans. It is also home to haters, spammers, and scammers. We tell you what security and privacy settings will help protect your account from them.

Does TikTok offer two-factor authentication?

Many social networks and services help secure users against password theft. Enabling two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection: If 2FA is enabled, in addition to your password, the app requires a one-time code that it sends on request in SMS, for example.

TikTok has no such setting, only the Log in with verification code option. In this case TikTok sends you a one-time access code in a text message. However, that’s not two-factor authentication; the code doesn’t complement your password but rather replaces it. Simply put, if you have the code, you can log in to your account without a password.

This solution is not perfect, because codes sent by SMS are far from the most reliable protection — although at least TikTok’s approach will save you if your password gets stolen; without that code no one can log in from an unfamiliar device. (One other thing: Unlink TikTok from your phone number if you plan to change it.)

If you sign in through Facebook or another social network, TikTok won’t send anything. The app simply trusts other services. Make sure your Facebook account is properly protected.

How to find out if someone is using my TikTok account

Let’s say you logged in from someone else’s device and forgot to log out. Or you fear your account might have been hacked. Checking to see whether someone else is using your TikTok account is easy.

• Tap Manage devices to see which phones your TikTok account is open on.
• Log out devices that you do not use by tapping the trashcan icon next to the relevant gadget in the list and selecting Remove.
• For safety, change your account password.

How to remove your profile from recommendations

By default, TikTok recommends your profile to other users if its algorithm finds your clips interesting or recognizes you as familiar to them. Even private accounts can wind up in the recommendations. That might happen, for example, if you have friends in common with another user or they have your phone number.

If you want to avoid getting into any recommendations whatsoever, block the app from inviting others to follow you. To do so, turn off Allow others to find me in the privacy settings.

How to get rid of spam and hate in comments

Unfortunately, not all users mean well. Some TikTokers are there to shower others with ads or insults.

To keep the comments section under your videos from becoming a sewer, you can set some restrictions. The easiest is blocking outsiders from discussing your clips. To do so, under Who can post comments select Friends or Off.

TikTok also lets you disable comments under a specific video. To do so, open the video, tap the three dots at the bottom right, and select Privacy settings. On the settings page that opens, tap Turn off comments for this video.

If, however, you want viewers to be able to speak their minds about your clips, but you do not want to manually remove spam and hate in the comments, try configuring a keyword filter. To do so:

• Tap Comment filters.
• Enable Filter spam and offensive comments. This is TikTok’s automatic moderator.
• Turn on Filter keywords and specify words and phrases you don’t want to see next to your videos. The robot will hide comments that contain them.

Remember to configure privacy and security in other social networks

Now that your TikTok account is reliably protected, it’s time to think about the security of your other accounts. See our security tips for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.