How to find an account on TikTok
So you've made your TikTok account. What now? Maybe you want to follow some of your friends that are already on the app?
The easiest way to see the content you want to see is by interacting with content you like and following creators who make that content. Maybe you have some people in mind already. That's great! Now, how do you find them?
There are a couple ways to do this, and in this article we'll cover everything from simply searching names and usernames, to syncing your contacts and Facebook friends.
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Search from the Discover page.
1. Navigate to the Discover page by tapping the magnifying glass icon at the bottom of your screen.
2. Type the name or username of the creator you're looking for in the search bar.
Let's say you're looking for Miley Cyrus. You can sort results by users, videos, sounds, and more.
3. Tap the account you're looking for, and you'll be taken to their profile. Done! Tap the Follow button to follow that creator.
Search from your profile page.
1. Instead of tapping "Discover" at the bottom of the screen, tap "Me".
2. Tap the "Find friends" icon in the top left corner of the screen.
3. Type the name or username of the account you're looking for in the search bar.
4. Tap the account you're looking for and you'll be taken to their profile. Tap the "Follow" button to follow that creator.
Find friends via contacts or Facebook
You can also use the "Find friends" button to find TikTok accounts from your contacts or Facebook friends.
To do so, you'll have to go into your phone settings and allow TikTok access to your contacts. For Facebook, the app will prompt you to sign in to your Facebook account, displaying a warning that says "This allows the app and website to share information about you" like your Facebook name and profile picture.
Either method involves potentially widening your TikTok network and sharing your account with others. Additionally, you'll be handing over some of your personal data to TikTok, so before you decide to follow the next steps, make sure this is something you comfortable in doing.
Find friends via contacts
1. Go to your profile page and tap the "Find friends" button in the upper left corner.
2. Under the search bar, tap "Find" next to "Contacts."
3. You'll be prompted to open your settings and allow TikTok access to your contacts. Tap "Open settings" and ensure TikTok has access to your contacts.
4. Navigate back to your TikTok app, and you'll see a list of accounts TikTok was able to find from your contacts.
5. Tap "Follow" on all the accounts you want to connect with.
Find friends via Facebook
1. Go to your profile page and tap the "Find friends" button in the upper left corner.
2. Under the search bar, tap "Find" next to "Facebook friends."
3. TikTok will prompt you to sign in to your Facebook profile, which will allow TikTok access to information about your Facebook account. Tap "Continue" to see more information and sign in.
4. You should see a page that says "TikTok will receive the following info: your name and profile picture and friends list."
5. Read the warning at the bottom of the page. It will say: "By continuing, TikTok will receive ongoing access to the information you share and Facebook will recored when TikTok accesses it."
6. If you want to continue, tap "Continue as [your name]."
7. You'll see a message that says "Facebook wants to open "TikTok." Tap "Open."
8. Tap "Find" next to "Facebook friends" just as you did before.
9. You'll be prompted to sync your Facebook friends list with your TikTok account to find your friends. Tap "Sync" to continue.
10. Tap "Follow" on all the accounts you want to connect with from your Facebook friends list.
If you want to remove your synced contacts or Facebook friends, go into your privacy settings on TikTok and tap where it says "Sync contacts and Facebook friends" (which, of course, you can also use to sync or re-sync friends and contacts). Then, just tap either "Remove contacts" or "Remove Facebook friends," which will turn off syncing and remove the data you previously synced with your TikTok account.
Tap "Remove" again when prompted, and you're done.
You can follow all kinds of accounts on TikTok. Follow celebs and influencers. Follow your friends. Follow your friends who may happen to be celebs and influencers. You can even follow brands, if you must.
The more accounts you follow, the more content you'll curate in your TikTok space. So get out there and start following.
Topics TikTok
Andy is a fellow on Mashable's Culture team. He graduated with a B.S. from the University of North Florida in 2018 and moved to New York to pursue journalism in culture and entertainment. He can (and will) talk for too long about Star Wars and movies in general. His fear of stinging insects and 80+ degree weather will keep him inside forever. He wishes he were shorter.
