TikTok is a global platform that allows everyone to share their content, view the content of others, and interact with friends, family members, and people worldwide.
The user-friendly app’s popularity has skyrocketed since its release in 2017.
The app lets you search for users and watch their videos.
What if you don’t have the app?
We will present steps to search for someone on the TikTok website and app with or without an account.
We’ll also give you a few ways to enjoy TikTok without downloading the app and present solutions for your malfunctioning search bar on TikTok.
How To Search Someone On Tik Tok On Computer
To search for someone on TikTok on a computer, follow these steps:
- Navigate to tiktok.com.
- At the top of the page, there’s a search bar that says “Search accounts.” Type the person’s name or username there.
- At the bottom of the list, tap view results.
- Look through the displayed accounts to find the one you’re searching for.
- If the person you’re searching for isn’t on the list, scroll down to the bottom and tap Load more.
This process only helps if you have that person’s username or they use a username that contains their name.
There are other ways to find someone on TikTok, including their QR code.
You can also sync your TikTok account with your contacts list or Facebook friends to find them on TikTok.
Also, if you know someone’s username, you can use the following URL to search for them manually:
https://www.tiktok.com/@username
TikTok used to work exclusively on smartphones for several years after its launch, so using it on a PC was a tough challenge.
You had to use Android emulators, such as BlueStacks, Nox Player, and AMIDuOS, to install the TikTok mobile app on your computer.
Fortunately, those days are over now.
TikTok’s website works almost the same as the mobile app, but the desktop layout might be a bit confusing.
Also, some features are disabled.
For example, you can’t see the list of your followers or the people you follow on the website—only their numbers.
Different Ways To Search Users On Tik Tok
To find someone on TikTok, you can use one of the following ways:
- Search their username (or name).
- Scan their TikTok QR code.
- Search them in your contact list.
- Search for them among your Facebook friends.
1. Search A Username
If you have someone’s TikTok username and want to find their account, you can type it in the app or website search bar, view the results list, and find your target.
You can also type the following URL directly in your browser:
https://www.tiktok.com/@username
If you don’t have their username, try typing part of their name in the search bar.
If they don’t use their real name on TikTok, though, chances are you won’t find them.
If you’ve seen someone’s TikTok videos elsewhere and want to find their account, you can get their username from the watermark on the video.
2. Scan A TikTok QR Code (TikCode)
A TikTok QR code links the URL for a specific TikTok account with a unique, shareable, scannable QR code.
When you scan someone’s TikCode, you’ll be directed to their TikTok profile.
From there, you can follow that person and view their videos.
This feature isn’t available on the TikTok website yet.
However, you can use the following steps to search someone’s QR code on the app:
- Open the TikTok app on your phone and log into your account.
- Click on the search button at the bottom left of the screen.
- Tap the scan button in the upper right corner to launch the scanner.
- Tap Photos on the upper right corner to open your gallery.
- Select the QR code of the account you want to visit.
Note: If you’re a new user, first sign up using your phone number, email address, Facebook, or Google account.
If you have the QR code on another device instead of your gallery, follow the same steps, but instead of tapping Photos, just bring the Tik Tok QR Code you want to scan in front of the camera.
You can get your TikTok QR code using these steps:
- Open the TikTok app and log into your account.
- Tap the Me icon in the bottom right-hand corner to open your Profile.
- Choose the TikCode option under the Account bar.
- Get your customized TikTok QR code, “My TikCode,” with your profile photo in the center.
- Click on the Save photo option at the bottom of the page to save it to your gallery to share it with others.
You can use this TikTok QR code to log into your account on the app or the website and share it with others so they can find you on their TikTok app.
3. Sync Your Contact List
If you have someone’s phone number, you can sync your contacts with your TikTok account and find them on TikTok.
However, finding people on TikTok from your contact list can be challenging because most people don’t connect their phone numbers to the app.
This feature is also limited to TikTok’s app version.
To find TikTok friends from your contact list, go to your phone’s settings and give TikTok permissions to load your contacts.
Then, follow these steps:
- Open the TikTok app and tap Profile on the bottom right corner.
- Tap Find friends, located in the upper left corner.
- Tap Find contacts.
- If you haven’t given TikTok access to your contacts before, the app will prompt you to open your settings and grant the app this permission. Tap Open settings and allow TikTok to access your contacts.
- Return to the TikTok app to see a list of accounts TikTok found from your contact list (only the ones who have linked their phone number to their account).
- Find those friends you want to connect with and follow them if you like.
If a contact isn’t on TikTok, you can hit the Invite button and send them a message to join the social platform.
The invitation is sent in text via your mobile carrier, and charges may apply.
If you ever change your mind, you can turn off contact sync using the following steps:
- Open TikTok and tap Profile on the bottom right corner.
- Tap the menu icon on the top right corner to open your Settings.
- Select Settings and Privacy.
- Select Privacy and then tap Sync contacts and Facebook friends.
- To turn it on or off, tap the toggle icon.
- Tap Remove contacts if you want to remove the synced data from your TikTok account.
4. Search Among Your Facebook Friends
If you log in using your Facebook account, you can sync friends and find them.
TikTok will prompt you to log in to your Facebook account and display an alert saying, “This allows the app and website to share information about you.”
That information includes your Facebook name and profile picture.
Syncing your Facebook account with your TikTok one helps you widen your TikTok network by sharing your account with others.
It also means that TikTok will access some of your personal information.
First, decide if you’re comfortable doing that, and then change the settings.
To find your Facebook friends on TikTok:
- Launch TikTok, open your Profile, and tap Find friends in the upper left corner.
- Tap Find Facebook friends.
- TikTok will ask you to log in to your Facebook account. Tap Continue to see more information and sign in.
- Read the warning and hit Continue if you’re comfortable with it.
- When you see the message “Facebook wants to open TikTok,” tap Open.
- Tap Find Facebook friends again.
- Tap Sync to link your Facebook friends list with your TikTok account and find your friends.
- Follow the accounts you want to connect with.
When you sign into your Facebook account through TikTok, you’ll see a prompt to invite friends to add you on TikTok.
If you wish to follow friends who aren’t on TikTok, tap the invite button, add a caption, and hit Post.
To remove your synced Facebook friends, go to your privacy settings on TikTok and tap Sync contacts and Facebook friends.
Then, tap Remove Facebook friends to turn off syncing and remove the previously synced data.
If you don’t have someone’s TikTok username or QR code, or they haven’t linked their account to their phone number or Facebook account, there’s no way to tell if they’re on TikTok unless you ask them.
Can You View A Profile On TikTok’s Website Without An Account?
You don’t need an account to view profiles on TikTok and watch their videos.
If you have someone’s username and want to view their profile on TikTok, just type it in the search bar and hit enter to see a list of accounts similar to the username you’ve searched.
If you don’t have their username, you can just type their name and search among the list of TikTok usernames containing their name.
Although you don’t need an account to find their Profile, you might face problems viewing their videos.
If their profile is public, you can see almost everything but can’t like, comment, or follow.
However, if the account is set to private mode, you won’t see the content unless you log in to your account, send a follow request to that user, and they accept it.
Another way to view a private profile’s videos without having an account is to use a third-party app, such as SocialApps.
That said, be very careful with third parties because they might be scammers.
If you want to visit a private profile, the best way is to create an account yourself.
How To Use TikTok Without Downloading The App
Although the app is still the best way to find and watch TikTok videos, it’s not the only way.
When you visit TikTok’s website, you can see the platform’s most popular videos and hashtags.
You can also search for an account in the search bar and watch its videos.
If you don’t have a particular account in mind or are new to TikTok, visit the suggested accounts section on the left, where you can find interesting videos.
Under the suggested accounts, you’ll find some hashtags you can click on and enjoy many related videos.
If those don’t cover your interests, click on TikTok and browse right below the hashtags.
This option will direct you to another page with a list of topics.
It shows you accounts with relevant content.
Most of the website’s features are available to users even without an account.
Still, you should sign up or log in to your account to get the best experience.
For example, you can’t watch TikTok live without logging in.
Also, you must log in to follow an account, like a video, or view comments.
If you search a keyword in the search bar, you can find accounts with that keyword.
However, you’ll need to log in to see what’s under the Top or Videos section.
You won’t need the app to sign up for TikTok.
You can do it on the website using your phone number, email, or your accounts on Google, Facebook, or Twitter.
You can log in by tapping the login button at the top right of the home page.
Alternatively, clicking on non-public content will prompt you with a login screen containing several options.
You can use some keyboard shortcuts on the TikTok website while watching videos:
- The Up arrow to navigate to the previous video.
- The Down arrow to navigate to the next video.
- The letter L to like a video.
- The letter M to mute or unmute the video.
Why Can’t I Search On Tik Tok?
The number of TikTok users is growing daily, and the amount of content on the platform has skyrocketed.
Therefore, the search bar is needed more than ever to find a specific user or videos on the platform.
However, the search bar may stop working from time to time.
If you’re having trouble searching on the TikTok app or website, consider the following solutions:
1. Check Your Network Connection
A poor network connection is the simplest, most common reason behind your malfunctioning search bar.
If your network is unstable, TikTok can’t fetch the necessary data to display the search results.
To check if your network is running slow, test it using tools such as Fast.com to measure your network’s bandwidth.
Reboot your router to eliminate network issues.
If the problem persists, report the issue to your service provider.
2. Restart The App Or Refresh The Website
A refresh or restart is one of the quickest ways to fix problems on any platform.
If you’re having troubles with the TikTok app, open the list of running applications on your phone and swipe up TikTok to close it.
Then go to the home screen and relaunch TikTok to reload the resources and eliminate the bugs.
If the problem occurs on the TikTok website, close the tab, open another window, and type the website address again.
Or just refresh it.
3. Update The App
The version of TikTok installed on your phone may have problems related to the search feature.
Developers fix such bugs in every update they release, so updating the app may fix your problem.
Go to the list of apps waiting to be updated on the Play Store for Android devices or App Store for iPhone and see if there’s a pending update for the TikTok app.
If there is, hit Update.
4. Wait For Server-Related Issues To Be Fixed
If you can’t search for people or videos on TikTok, there might be something wrong with the platform.
If an unexpected issue occurred at TikTok or their team is simply performing system maintenance on the servers, there’s nothing you can do but wait till it’s over and the platform is back on track.
5. Reinstall The App
If none of the solutions work, the app might have a more serious problem.
Some TikTok installation files may get corrupted and cause problems that updates can’t fix.
The best way to solve this is to remove or uninstall the app and reinstall it again from the Play Store on Android devices and App Store for iOS.
6. Report To TikTok
The final solution is to visit TikTok’s Help Center and search to find the solution to your problem with the malfunctioning research bar.
Contact them and ask them for assistance if you don’t find the answer.
Is TikTok Safe?
TikTok belongs to a Chinese tech company, ByteDance, based in Beijing, China, with offices worldwide.
The Chinese government’s policies have led to concerns about the safety of such Chinese products as TikTok.
Although TikTok is a global platform, it’s banned in some countries, including India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
To access the platform in those countries, you’ll need to use a reliable VPN that masks your true location.
Former President Trump banned TikTok in the US during his presidency due to security concerns.
However, the ban never really took effect due to legal disputes.
President Biden reversed that decision with two executive orders after taking office.
There are still ongoing arguments about this issue.
Some people believe TikTok isn’t any riskier than other social media sharing platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
By contrast, others feel they can’t trust TikTok due to its origins.
If you’re concerned about the app, simply don’t use it or be cautious about what you share on it or what data you have on the device its app is installed on.
Leave a Reply