Staying Safe Online: Securing Your TikTok Account
As part of our ongoing Staying Safe Online series, we want to provide a clear guide for those looking to make their online presence a little more secure. As people continue to share more information about their lives online, these pieces of information can be exactly what a hacker or scammer is looking for. From providing helpful clues during Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering expedition, giving a list of your friends and followers right to a scammer, insecure TikTok accounts can be a treasure trove of information, or lead to unwanted attention from potentially dangerous people.
Our friends over at Studio Sec put together a quick walkthrough on how to improve your TikTok account security right from your mobile device.
Securing Your Instagram Account from Your Desktop/Laptop
1. Login into your TikTok account.
2. Select your profile picture from the top right corner and select the Settings option from the drop-down list.
3. From the Settings menu, select Privacy
4. Within the Privacy area you can customize who is able to watch your videos and follow your account
Currently, the only privacy option available is the following:
Private Account - When an account is private, only approved users can follow you, view your followers and following lists, read your bio, and watch your uploaded videos
Securing Your Instagram Account from a Mobile Device
Launch the TikTok app on your mobile device and select the Profile option from the bottom navigation bar
2. From your profile select the Menu burger button and select the Settings and Privacy gear icon
4. Scroll through the Settings and Privacy menu and select the Privacy option.
5. Within the Privacy area you can find various security options including the following:
Private Account - The option to change how others interact with your account. If your account is set to private, the ability to view your videos and follow your account will only be allowed to those you approve.
Activity Status - If enabled, you and any followers that you follow back will be able to see your activity status (only if you both have this feature enabled)
Suggest Your Account to Others - If enabled, TikTok will suggest your account to various people including the following:
Contacts - Those who have your associated number
Facebook Friends - Those who are friends with your associated Facebook account
Mutual Connections - Those who have mutual followers
People Who Open or Send Links to You - Those who send links to you, or have been sent links by you. This includes TikTok content shared outside of the platform.
6. Within the Privacy area you can also find various interaction options that determine how others interact with you on the platform including the following:
Comments - The ability to determine who can comment on your videos and stories as well as the filtering and management of comments
Mentions and Tags - The ability to choose who can tag or mention your account
Direct Messages - The ability to choose who can send you a direct message as well as message filtering
Downloads - The ability to determine if your videos can be downloaded or shared to other platforms
Following List - The ability to set who can view a list of who you follow
7. Scroll through the Settings and Privacy menu and select the Security and Login option.
8. Within the Security and Login area you can find various security options including the following:
Security Alerts - A quick report of any unusual account activity over the past 7 days
Manage Devices - A list of the devices currently logged into your account
Manage App Permissions - A list of all apps and sites that have been grated access to some of your TikTok data or posts
9. Within the Privacy and Settings area you can also configure your 2-Step Verification (Two-Factor Authentication) settings.
When enabled, TikTok will ask for an additional security code (sent via Text Message or Email) that will required before a login can be performed from an unrecognized device or 3rd-party application. This prevents an unauthorized user from accessing your account, even if they know your username and password.
Now What?
After walking through the steps to secure your TikTok account, it is still important that you remain aware of what you’re posting and who you are connected with. Malicious actors such as scammers and hackers will often create fake profiles and try to connect with you in order to learn as much as they can about you and your friends. By following the guide above as well as being more aware of what information you put online, you can stay safe online and limit your chances of falling victim or an online attacker. Be wary of accounts that have a large number of followers that have little to no posts and no profile picture as this can often indicate an in-authentic/bot account. Additionally, be caution when messaging accounts that mention giveaways or free products as these are often techniques used by scammers and malicious users to steal your personal information and even your account passwords. Finally, on social applications like TikTok it’s important to remember that not everyone will try to connect with you for the right reasons. Some people may try to seek out explicit posts or participate in malicious behavior such as grooming and it is critical to be aware of how to respond and what tools are available should you encounter this behavior.
If you have other social media accounts, make sure to check out our other Staying Safe Online guides as we walk through how to secure your accounts on sites like Twitter, Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram, and more!