How to hide your following list on TikTok
To hide your following list on TikTok, go to Profile, ☰, Settings and privacy, Privacy, Following list, and pick “Only me” or “Only you”. It works on a public account.
To limit your followers list too, switch to a private account. Your following count stays visible. Tools such as a TikTok follower tracker only see what is public, so a hidden list stays hidden from them too.
Also for Instagram: Hide followers and following →
How to hide your following list on TikTok
- 1
Open your profile
In the TikTok app, tap Profile in the bottom bar.
- 2
Open Settings and privacy
Tap the menu icon (☰) at the top right, then Settings and privacy.
- 3
Go to Privacy, then Following list
Tap Privacy. Following list sits in the Interactions group.
- 4
Choose the most restrictive option
Pick “Only me” (some versions say “Only you”). Your list is now hidden from everyone else.
How to hide your followers on TikTok (make your account private)
“How to hide followers on TikTok” is the more common question, and the answer is different. TikTok’s Help Center describes one way to control who sees your followers list: a private account. With a private account, only people you approve can see your posts and both of your lists. We couldn’t find a documented setting that hides only the followers list on a public account.
- Open your profile and tap the menu (☰).
- Go to Settings and privacy, then Privacy.
- Turn on Private account.
Going private is a bigger step: people you haven’t approved can’t see your videos anymore, and new followers need your approval. If you mainly care about who you follow, hiding the following list is enough.
What hiding does and doesn’t stop
| Following list hidden | Private account | |
|---|---|---|
| Others see who you follow | No | Only approved followers (unless also hidden) |
| Others see who follows you | Yes, on a public account | Only approved followers |
| Name, username and photo visible | Yes | Yes |
| Following count visible | Yes | Not documented by TikTok |
| Your videos visible to everyone | Yes | No |
| You appear in followers of accounts you follow | Yes | Yes |
Two things people often miss. First, a follow has two sides: the accounts you follow still see you in their followers, and so can anyone who opens their followers list. Second, your following count stays on your profile, so people can still see the number move.
Trackers can only read what TikTok shows publicly. Once your following list is hidden, a tool like the Peekd TikTok follower tracker can’t see whom you follow anymore. On a public account it can still record who starts and stops following you, and the following list viewer will report your list as hidden. A private account closes both lists to outside tools.
Can people still see your list some other way?
Not the list itself. Once it’s hidden, TikTok shows it only to you, and no viewer site can open it, whatever it promises. Our guide on whether a hidden following list can be seen on TikTok explains what those sites really do, and what someone can still piece together from your following count and from the followers lists of accounts you follow.
Before and after you hide it
Hiding the list works from the moment you change the setting. It doesn’t reach back: anyone who already looked at your list, took screenshots of it or was tracking your account before keeps what they saw. A tracker that recorded your follows before you hid the list keeps that history, it just stops seeing new ones.
It also hides the whole list, not single names. If there are one or two follows you’d rather keep to yourself, hiding the list covers them, but your following count still shows that you follow someone.
To show your list again, go back to Settings and privacy, Privacy, Following list, and pick a wider option. Nothing else about your account changes, and your followers and videos stay as they were.
On a computer
The steps above are for the TikTok app on your phone. It isn’t clear whether the Following list option is fully available on tiktok.com, so make the change in the app.
Hiding your visits too
Hiding your list doesn’t hide your profile visits. Profile view history is a separate, opt-in setting: if you and the person you look at both have it on, they can see you visited, for 30 days. It’s only available if you’re 16 or older and have fewer than 5,000 followers. Turning it off means you can’t see your viewers and nobody can see your visits. Full rules and steps in does TikTok show who viewed your profile.
Instagram works differently
Instagram has no setting that hides only your following list, so the options there are different. See how to hide your following list on Instagram if you use both.
Frequently asked questions
How do I hide who I follow on TikTok?
Profile, menu (☰), Settings and privacy, Privacy, Following list, then choose the most restrictive option (“Only me” or “Only you”). It works on public accounts.
How do I make my following private on TikTok?
Set Following list to “Only me” (or “Only you”) under Settings and privacy, Privacy. That makes the list private while the rest of your account stays public. Making the whole account private also limits it to people you approve.
How do I hide my followers on TikTok?
Switch to a private account in Settings and privacy, Privacy. Then only people you approve can see your followers and following lists. TikTok doesn’t document a followers-only setting for public accounts.
Can people see my following count if I hide my list?
Yes. Hiding the list doesn’t hide the following count on your profile.
If my account is private, can people see who I follow?
Only people you’ve approved as followers, unless you’ve also hidden your following list.
Can trackers see who I follow after I hide my list?
No. Outside tools only see what TikTok shows publicly. On a public account they can still see your followers.
Keep exploring
More TikTok guides
See who someone follows on TikTok · See who someone recently followed on TikTok
