There is nothing more annoying than taking the time to create a quality TikTok video, only to see it get 0 views.
This glitch is one of the most common on TikTok, and most people will experience it at one point or another.
Thankfully, because it’s happened to so many people, we now know a lot about what actually causes it, and what can be done to fix it.
So, if your TikTok has little to no views and you want to learn how to fix it, you’re in the right place!
How We Know This Is A Glitch
Getting 0 views on TikTok is a known bug, and it doesn’t necessarily mean your video won’t eventually go viral.
Thanks to how the TikTok algorithm works, we can indeed be sure that 0 views is always a glitch, and it’s not just due to your video’s quality. This also means it has no impact on your video’s future performance – once we solve the glitch, your video can still take off and receive plenty of engagement later.
How do we know this?
TikTok’s algorithm is fueled entirely by data, and how far your video is pushed out is determined entirely by its initial levels of success.
TikTok starts all videos by showing them to a small group of people.
Then, based on how well those initial people respond to the video, it will push it out to an even larger group.
This process continues repeatedly until the video has run its course.
TikTok has no way of knowing how well a video is going to do on its own. This is why it relies on that initial set of people to start feeding back data, and why ALL TikTok videos should at least get a few views early on.
If your video is truly stuck at 0 views, it indicates a bug – which is what this article is designed to help you fix.
How To Fix The TikTok 0 Views Glitch
For better or worse, there are many different reasons why your video may be stuck at 0 views. Some of these are in your control, and some of them aren’t.
By having a full understanding of what prevents TikTok from distributing your video, you can make the necessary fixes in hopes to solve the problem.
Note that even just one of these can prevent a video from being pushed to people’s For You or Following feeds. TikTok uses artificial intelligence to scan the contents of your video as soon as it is uploaded, which is how they’re able to know that you’ve done something wrong before anyone even sees it.
Now that you understand this, let’s begin.
1. Community Guidelines Violations
This is the big one.
TikTok begins scanning your video for community guidelines violations before it is even shown to a single person. And unfortunately, their automated system does not always get things right.
Show a little too much skin? TikTok may think your video contains nudity, even if it was just your arm.
Joke arounds with your friends? Move in the wrong ways, and TikTok’s automated system may think you are fighting.
TikTok’s community guidelines are quite lengthy, but here are a few that people are commonly breaking:
- Violence or violent behavior
- Adult content.
- Racist, sexist, or other types of content that target groups of people
- Misinformation
- Scams
- Spam
- Illicit substances (including vaping, cigarettes and alcohol.)
You can view the full list of community guidelines by clicking here.
Note that if TikTok has determined that a video has broken community guidelines, it may be removed entirely.
Usually at this point, they will send you a notification within the TikTok app and explain the reasoning. Thankfully, you can file an appeal. Note that filing an appeal can take some time however, and you shouldn’t delete or reupload the video until the appeals process is completed.
2. Banned Items
Many people don’t know this, but TikTok has a list of banned items that can suppress your video (or even lead to community guideline violations.)
These items do not need to be the focus of the video, even having them in the background is enough for the video to be suppressed.
Using data from TikTok’s community guidelines as well as leaked company documents published by the The Intercept, some items that may lead to suppression include:
- Anything that wouldn’t be appropriate to bring to a school, and show to a classroom (you get the idea.) This includes items that you’d ingest into your body, as well as the types of items that can hurt other people.
- Swimsuits or bikinis outside of a swimming setting
- Bows
- Scissors
- Knives
- Racist symbols.
- Anything ‘adult’ in nature. This includes toys, or clothing that is too revealing.
- Anything promoting harmful websites
Reports from TikTok users have mentioned that once the banned item was removed and they reposted the video, it immediately started getting views as any other TikTok would.
3. Swearing / Banned Words
Did you know that swearing in your TikTok videos leads to suppression?
This also extends to things such as the TikTok’s captions, hashtags and any stickers used in the video – which is why you often see people using zeros in place of O’s, or switching up words entirely.
Swearing doesn’t seem to be something that guarantees your video will stay at 0 views however – it may just be one of many factors TikTok uses to determine who to distribute your video to.
I have come across videos with swearing on my For You page plenty of times that are doing just fine.
However, it is best to leave the swear or curse words out if you want to reach as many people as possible. This also includes other inappropriate words, such as sexual innuendo or derogatory remarks.
4. Using A VPN
While it’s possible to use a VPN to connect to TikTok, it isn’t really a good idea – especially if you’re planning on making TikToks of your own.
VPNs mask your IP address by connecting to another server, which makes it look like you’re in a different location.
This same server is also shared by everyone else that uses the VPN service – thus making it more difficult for TikTok to find out where you’re connecting from.
There are a few problems with this, however.
First of all, the VPN server is shared with others, who may have used it to break TikTok’s rules in the past. You have no way of controlling what other people have done on TikTok while using the VPN, and all of their bad actions may carry over to you.
Secondly, it is considered to be suspicious behavior. Most people have no use for a VPN while browsing TikTok or releasing videos.
Although there are plenty of legitimate reasons to use VPNs, TikTok may fear that you are doing so in order to circumvent a ban, or make it more difficult to track you.
Both of these are a risk, so TikTok may keep your video at 0 views if you published it while using a VPN service.
5. Shadowbans
If your video is stuck at 0 views, there’s a chance that you may be shadowbanned.
Shadowbans are quite different from regular bans. Instead of banning you from using TikTok outright, TikTok may suppress your account entirely from being exposed to others.
In some instances, you may only be blocked from one specific feature. For example, if you follow people excessively, you may be blocked from following for a period of time while also having your videos suppressed.
Some actions that can cause shadowbans on TikTok include:
- Posting and reposting the same TikToks repeatedly
- Spam liking
- Following too many people
- The use of automation or bots
- Inappropriate comments left on other people’s posts
- Violating community guidelines
- Posting shocking or offensive content
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to tell if the 0 views glitch was caused by a shadowban. However, if you are shadowbanned, it should affect all of the new videos that you publish until the shadowban is up.
Most shadowbans are temporary, and go away within a week. Therefore, if you believe you’ve been shadowbanned its best to simply be patient and wait for it to end.
6. Copyright Infringement / Reposts
This is one example where TikTok and YouTube differ.
On YouTube, you can get away with using bits and snippets of other people’s content.
On TikTok, using other people’s content in anything other than a duet can lead to your video being stuck at 0 views.
This includes the use of unlicensed music, TV shows, YouTube videos, movies, or other copyrighted media.
As a matter of fact, the first time I experienced the 0 views glitch was when I tried to use a snippet of a Steve Jobs speech in one of my videos. Although it was my highest quality video to date, it never made it past 0 views due to the copyrighted footage – except for the times that I viewed it myself, of course.
TikTok takes this one very seriously, and the only way to fix it is to remove the copyrighted material.
If you’ve seen other people on your For You page get away with this, understand that it is the exception and not the rule. Some people slip past TikTok’s automated system, yet most people get stuck at 0 views forever, with no hope of the video ever truly taking off.
Note that reposting other people’s TikToks – including your own without modification, can also lead to low to no views.
7. Poor Trust Signals
It is likely that TikTok looks at your account as a whole, when determining whether your video should be distributed or not.
Therefore, it would make the most sense for them to scrutinize new accounts more heavily, especially if they are beginning to post videos for the first time.
TikTok wants to make sure new accounts are trustworthy, and aren’t being used for spam or rule-breaking behavior shortly after they’re created. People creating these types of accounts know they’ll be banned quickly, so they attempt to do the largest amount of damage in the quickest amount of time.
Some things you can do to make your account look more trustworthy include:
- Spending some time actually browsing TikTok before you begin publishing your own videos.
- Filming your first videos within the TikTok app itself.
- Uploading a profile picture.
- Following a few accounts that are interesting to you.
- Waiting a few days before publishing your first video.
- Avoid purchasing fake followers, or using tools to artificially boost your follower count.
- Write a bio.
- Avoid publishing a large number of TikToks in quick succession. Space them out and try to publish no more than 5-6 a day at first.
- Uploading the video on TikTok first, before uploading it to other platforms such as YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels.
All of these activities help prove to TikTok that you are in fact a real, legitimate person and not a bot account.
8. Poor Video Quality
It goes without saying, but the higher quality your TikTok videos are, the more likely they are to succeed on the platform.
Videos that are blurry or are extremely poor quality should still receive at least some views, but they’re unlikely to receive very many.
There is no shortage of well-shot video available to show people. Therefore, low quality videos may only receive large amounts of exposure if they are extremely engaging, and receive a lot of positive signals early on.
While even low quality videos shouldn’t be stuck at 0 views, it’s worth learning how to improve your video quality.
Fortunately, this can be done without having to buy a new phone or camera.
Click here to learn how to improve your TikTok video quality!
9. Your Video Is Under Review
If your TikTok is stuck on 0 views, there’s a chance it’s been placed under review.
Videos can be thrown into review before they are ever sent to anybody’s For You pages. If TikTok’s automated system senses something may be wrong and needs a human moderator to check, the video will go under review.
TikTok reviews typically take up to 48 hours, though can sometimes take longer. Other times, they may can happen in minutes.
If the video is approved, it will be pushed out to people’s For You pages as normal. If it’s removed for a community guidelines violation, you have the chance to appeal it.
One neat little trick you can use to tell whether your video is in review is to try to share it.
If you go to share your TikTok and the share buttons aren’t there (or you get a message telling you it can’t be shared), then you know it’s under review.
If it’s being suppressed for a different reason, you should still be able to share it to others as long as it hasn’t been taken down.
10. You’re Unlucky
Finally, some videos are just glitched for seemingly no reason.
At this point, we can only theorize.
It could be that TikTok’s automated scanning system detected something wrong, but you have no idea what.
It could be that someone else on your network broke some rule, and somehow its crossing over to you.
We really can’t be sure. Yet some people get stuck on 0 views for seemingly no reason – even if they do everything right, try very hard to break no rules, and otherwise are model citizens.
At this point, you may consider sending TikTok a support ticket to inquire, and see what you can learn.
If you’d like, you can also share your TikTok profile in the comment form after this article and I’d be happy to take a look to see if I can notice anything myself.
Often Times, Patience Is Key
It’s important to keep in mind that just because a video doesn’t start getting views straight away, doesn’t mean that it won’t start getting views later.
It can often take a few hours or even a few days for TikTok to sort itself out, and begin distributing your videos to people’s feeds.
While this unfortunately makes it harder to post on any sort of schedule, you should always give it a little bit of time before you begin to worry.
Fortunately, people will still be able to view the video if they go directly to your profile, as long as the video isn’t under reviewed or taken down for breaking community guidelines.
The thing to remember is that often this bug resolves itself automatically, and there’s nothing you need to do. Of course, you should check your TikTok for the things mentioned above, but understand that you may just have to wait.
Should You Delete And Reupload The Video?
If your TikTok seems to be stuck in 0-view limbo, should you reupload it and try again?
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any clear-cut answer on whether you should delete and reupload videos that are stuck on 0 views.
Obviously, this should be avoided if your video was taken down for a community guidelines violation. Reuploading the same rule-breaking video will only cause another strike against your account, which is something you’ll want to avoid.
Likewise, if the video is under review, you should wait for the review to be completed until you do anything else with the video.
But what if the video just seems glitched, and you’ve already reviewed everything on this list?
In these instances, you really have nothing to lose by uploading the same video again.
However, you should wait at least a few days to be sure, as the 0 views bug often corrects itself around this time.
Deleting and reuploading the same video may just reset the timer, so you may end up having to wait even longer for the video to start being pushed out.
Tip: If you are going to reupload the same video, try to make some minor adjustment to it – even if it just trimming an extra fraction of a second off, or adding some additional text.
Conclusion
If your video is stuck at 0 views, it is likely due to one of the reasons listed above.
Remember that 0 views is always a glitch – all TikTok videos should get at least a few views, as long as nothing’s wrong.
That being said, there are certain things proven to suppress videos, and prevent them from being pushed out to people’s feeds.
By looking over each thing on this list, you can make the necessary adjustments to help your TikTok get the views it deserves.
I hope that this article has helped you. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask them using the comment form below.
To your success,
– James McAllister
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