Only in one case: you are signed in to TikTok, you both have profile view history turned on, you are both 16 or older, and they have fewer than 5,000 followers. The setting is off by default. Looking at a profile without a TikTok account, for example on tik.observer, never shows up in anyone's list.
How does TikTok profile view history work?
Profile view history is a TikTok setting that lists the accounts that opened your profile in the past 30 days. It works both ways: you only see visitors who have the setting on, and when it is on, people whose profiles you open can see your visit too.
Your visit appears in someone's list only when all of this is true:
- you are signed in to your TikTok account;
- both of you have profile view history turned on;
- both of you are 16 or older;
- the person you visit has fewer than 5,000 followers;
- the visit was in the last 30 days.
TikTok describes these rules in its Help Center article Profile view history.
Who never shows up in profile view history?
A visit is not recorded anywhere it could be seen when any one of the conditions is missing:
- Visitors who are not signed in. Without an account there is nothing for TikTok to put in the list.
- Anyone with the setting off. It is off by default, and many people never turn it on.
- Anyone under 16, on either side.
- Large accounts. With 5,000 followers or more, the feature is not available, so those creators never see who looked.
Can someone see that you watched their TikTok video?
Post view history works like profile view history but for videos, and it has its own switch. It covers posts from the last 7 days, with the same age and follower limits. One difference matters: if you like or comment on someone's post, they can see it as a view even when your post view history is off. Watching without reacting leaves no name behind once the setting is off.
Stories have their own viewer list, separate from both settings.
How to turn off profile views on TikTok
If you browse TikTok while signed in and don't want to appear in other people's lists, switch the setting off:
- In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
- Tap the menu button at the top, then Settings and privacy.
- Tap Privacy, then Profile views.
- Turn Profile view history off.
You will also stop seeing who visited your own profile. For videos, do the same under Privacy, then Post views.
Videos, stories, reposts and followers of any public account. Nothing is linked to you.
Can you view a TikTok profile without them knowing?
tik.observer is a free anonymous TikTok viewer. When you open a profile in our TikTok Profile Viewer, our server requests the public data from TikTok, and your browser then loads the videos and pictures by their public links. No TikTok account is involved in any of this, so there is no visit for TikTok to show the person you look at.
The same goes for stories in the TikTok Story Viewer and for videos you save with the TikTok Video Downloader: without an account, your name cannot appear in any viewer list.
Private accounts stay closed. A site that promises to open them is not telling the truth.
Questions
Does TikTok notify someone when I view their profile?
No. TikTok sends no notification. A visit can only appear in their profile view history list, under the conditions above.
Can someone see that I watched their video?
Only through post view history, which has the same age and follower limits and covers the last 7 days. A like or a comment is always visible to the creator.
Do stories work the same way?
No. Stories have their own viewer list, separate from profile and post view history.
How do I turn profile views back on?
Follow the same steps and switch Profile view history on. It works only for accounts of people 16 or older with fewer than 5,000 followers.
Can creators with over 5,000 followers see profile views?
No. Profile view history is only available to accounts with fewer than 5,000 followers.