So probably you logged into your TikTok account and found it turned to private by itself. Many users have suddenly reported that TikTok has made their account private automatically.
No, there is no bug in the TikTok app and nor is your TikTok account hacked. In fact, nothing is wrong with your TikTok account. It is behaving completely normal. The reason why TikTok keeps turning your account private is more of a policy change on the side of TikTok.
Why Has Your TikTok Turned Private?
With the growing digital presence of people, the policies and laws are slowly catching up with the growing challenges. Especially on TikTok, users under the age of 16 have shown a huge jump.
Considering the safety & privacy of users under the age of 16, their TikTok accounts will by default be put under the private security mode. The users can then make an active informed decision to turn their TikTok profiles public or not.
Other Changes Introduced By TikTok
- Under-16 videos will be restricted from any comments from other users. Under-16 will have the option to allow comments only from their friends.
- Stitching and duet videos will also be kept limited to friends for users under-16.
- Furthermore, downloading the videos of under-16 will not be allowed.
- “Suggest your account to others” will by default be set to Off for under-16 users.
These policy changes for the young users is a step to reinforce the safety and privacy for under-16. Internet is a strange place and offensive hurtful comments for no reason are extremely common. The impact they could have on the young enthusiastic users could be catastrophic for their mental health.