What are TikTok Stories? Are they the same as Instagram and Facebook Stories? If yes, can you see who viewed your TikTok stories?
These are some of the questions that have cropped up with the advent of TikTok’s new feature, made to rival the same feature on similar social media platforms. So, if Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are not enough for you and you feel you need another platform to share what you are about, you should check out TikTok stories.
But before you do, here is everything you need to know about it.
What are TikTok Stories?
TikTok Stories is a new feature on TikTok that allows you to share videos that automatically disappear from your profile after 24 hours. These videos can be up to 15 seconds long, just like Stories on other social networks.
Lots of social media sites, including Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram, allow you to post Stories on your profile that automatically delete after 24 hours. WhatsApp even has a similar feature called Status, and now, TikTok is offering the same to its users.
However, what sets TikTok stories apart from its competitors is that users can comment publicly on stories and see who else has viewed the story content. Your followers can find your stories on their ‘For You’ page in the same way they would see your regular videos. It is not a list of private stories where replies go straight to a personal inbox. But viewers can like, share, and comment publicly on your story the same way they would interact with a feed post.
That being said, TikTok Stories is pretty similar to the Stories features on other platforms. You can see a list of users who have viewed or interacted with a Story you have posted. Also, there will be a blue ring around your profile picture to indicate to followers that you have a Story to view, and people can view your stories by simply tapping on your profile picture.
In addition, when people come across your TikTok video on their ‘For You’ page, a “Stories” tag will appear in the video to let them know that you have a Story to watch. This is one way in which TikTok Stories are a bit different from other platforms.
Step-by-step Guide To Post A TikTok Story
If you want to create a new story on TikTok, here’s how to do it:
- Click on the “+” icon at the bottom center of the navigation bar on your TikTok home screen to open the creator window.
- Swipe across the bottom bar to select the “Stories” option. If you don’t see it, make sure you’re using the latest version of the TikTok app. Alternatively, you might be unable to see this option if TikTok Stories are still unavailable in your region.
- Tap on the Timer icon from the right-hand panel. This will let you set a time limit for your video, where you can choose from the default 3-second or 10-second recording option. Also, you can manually drag the bar below to set a custom time limit of anywhere between 1 second and 15 seconds.
- TikTok lets you record Stories natively, which means you don’t need to create videos ahead of time and you can create videos on the spot. Tap on the Quick Camera button to begin recording a new video.
- However, if you want, you can still upload a pre-recorded video as an Instagram Story. To do this, tap on the “Upload” button on the right and select a video from your camera roll.
- Once your video is ready, you can post it right away as a Story. Or you can have some fun and edit it with filters, stickers, effects, voiceovers, and transitions just like you would with a regular in-feed post. This can be used to personalize your story.
- Click the ‘Next’ button. Here, you can write captions, add hashtags and links, tag people and locations, mention other accounts, or customize your privacy settings. You can even choose a cover photo for the Story.
- Once everything’s ready, hit the “Post” button to publish your TikTok Story.
Can You See Who Viewed Your TikToks?
No. TikTok does not provide a detailed list of people who have viewed your TikTok story. However, you can see the total number of people who watched your video.
Prior to early 2020, there existed a workaround where the viewer’s name could also be seen along with the TikTok view count, but that feature is no longer available. Why TikTok removed this feature is still a mystery because the company never gave a heads-up for such a change nor provided an explanation for it later.
But, while there may not be a way to know for sure who has viewed your videos on TikTok, you can surely make some educated guesses. You can see whoever liked, commented, or otherwise interacted with your video in your Activity section. These are the people who have undoubtedly viewed your video. However, apart from this, there isn’t anything else you can do to know more about the viewers of your content.
A little tip: Just like TikTok removed this functionality from the app, it is very possible that the company will restore it at some point in the future, so we can be surely hopeful for that!
Can Third-Party Apps Help You To See Who Views Your TikTok?
While it can be tempting to use a third-party app that claims to be able to show which users/followers viewed your TikTok Stories, it is not advisable to do so. It is better to stay away from third-party apps altogether because of all the permissions and access to the personal information they typically demand.
When it comes to your privacy, you shouldn’t let anything compromise it. This is why TikTok itself includes a warning in its guidelines about the risks of installing third-party apps.
Can You Tell Who Viewed Your TikTok Profile?
Yes, you can. However, this is not an automatic feature; you have manually opt-in for this. Also, accounts that have this feature turned on and have viewed your profile in the past 30 days (i.e., your recent TikTok profile views) will appear in your profile view history.
Similarly, if you visit another account’s profile page and they have this setting turned on, they will be able to see that you visited their profile. Therefore, if you don’t switch your “profile history” on, the other person won’t know if you visited their profile.
You can turn your Profile view history feature on and off in 2 ways:
Switch it on or off in your privacy settings
- Step 1: Tap on the “Profile” icon in the bottom right corner of your screen on your TikTok mobile app.
- Step 2: Next, click on the 3-line menu icon on the top right corner of your screen. Head over to “Settings”, then “Settings and Privacy”.
- Step 3: Go to “Privacy” and then go to “Profile views”
- Step 4: Toggle the icon placed just next to the “Profile view history” option to either turn it on or off.
Switch on or off on your Profile Views page
- Step 1: Open your TikTok app and click on the “Inbox” icon at the bottom of your screen.
- Step 2: Scroll down and tap on the notification that displays “Someone has viewed your profile”. This will redirect you to your “Profile Views” page
- Step 3: Tap on the “Settings” icon on the top right of your screen.
- Step 4: Toggle the icon placed just next to the “TikTok Profile view history” option to turn it on or off.
How To View Someone’s Story
To view someone else’s story, simply go to their profile. If the user’s profile picture has a blue circle around it, that means they have posted a story. To view their story, click on their profile photo. You can also react and comment on their stories.
How To Delete A TikTok Story
TikTok Stories stay on for 24 hours on the app, after which the system automatically deletes them for good. However, if you think the story has been up for long enough or you’re not happy with the video, you can take it down anytime you want.
To delete a TikTok Story, click on it and tap on the three dots at the bottom of the sidebar. Swipe till the end to see the ‘delete’ option. Select that to delete the story.
TikTok Stories Strategy
A great deal of your normal TikTok content strategy most likely revolves around trying to widen your reach and gain new followers by posting viral videos. However, TikTok Stories offers a great opportunity to engage with your current followers and build a stronger community.
The “For You” page shows content from accounts across TikTok (even ones you don’t follow). However, the Story panel will exclusively show the content of accounts you already follow. Just like Instagram Stories, TikTok Stories disappear after 24 hours. Hence, with the content being so fleeting, it is likely that anyone who doesn’t follow you will miss out.
Therefore, it is a good idea to mention this and encourage all of your viewers to follow you so they never miss a Story.
Why Are TikTok Stories Important?
This is the big question – why do you even need TikTok Stories? TikTok videos are already short enough; why go through the hassle of posting 15-second videos that will disappear in 24 hours? Especially when Instagram and Facebook offer the same features.
Well, here are a few reasons why you should consider using TikTok Stories:
It’s the time for short-form videos: People are developing an increased preference for shorter videos. Sprout Social even found that short-form videos are 2.5x more engaging to consumers than long-form videos.
Therefore, it is no surprise that short-form videos won as the most engaging type of in-feed content on social media. With the brief nature of TikTok Stories, they could be an effective way to engage your audience.
Your Stories’ contents tend to be less planned and spontaneous and therefore offer an authentic way to engage your audience. In fact, the TikTok team developed Stories specifically so that users can give their audience a real and authentic look into their lives. This will enable a deeper engagement.
Also, TikTok has earned its place as one of the leading social networks. The Sprout Social study from earlier also found that it is among the top four platforms that consumers plan to use most over the next 12 months.
Therefore, with TikTok usage increasing and not showing any signs of slowing down, users have to adapt by focusing their efforts and resources on the platform. This means leveraging the platform’s latest features to gain a competitive advantage.
Related Articles:
- How to Do a Voiceover on TikTok
- How to Add Threads to Instagram Bio: Detailed Guide
- What Are Push Notifications? Everything You Need To Know
References
