Are you looking to see when someone was last active on TikTok – or if they’re online now?
TikTok has a feature to be able to do this, but it’s disabled by default. So unless you specifically turn it on, you won’t see someone’s activity status!
In this article, I’ll be going over how to see when someone is active on TikTok – as well as the last time they were online.
I’ll also share how you can see when someone was last online even if they’re not following you, as well as tips for parents to see when their child last used TikTok on their phone.
Let’s get started!
How To See Someone’s Activity Status On TikTok
Many people don’t know this, but TikTok has a feature that works almost exactly like Facebook Messenger!
Once the option is enabled, you will be able to see a green dot next to someone’s TikTok username, indicating that they’re online. When they go offline, you will be able to see when they were last active for up to 48 hours after they’ve logged off.
However, there are a few conditions for this to work.
First, the two of you must be following each other. If they aren’t following you or you aren’t following them, you won’t be able to see the green dot when they’re online, nor will you be able to see when they were last active.
Secondly, your account must show that you are at least 18 years old. This is a restriction put in place to protect minors – similarly to why you can’t send TikTok messages if you’re under 16. If you need to update your birthday, instructions can be found in this article.
Finally, you must enable the feature in TikTok’s settings. The other person must also have the feature enabled as well.
It is off by default, which is why so many people don’t know about it!
How To Turn Your Activity Status On / Off On TikTok
Now that we know that TikTok has a feature for this built into the platform, let’s look at how you can turn it on or off!
Thankfully, the process is quite simple once you know where to look.
To enable or disable your activity status on TikTok, follow these steps:
- Open the TikTok app.
- In the bottom-right corner of the screen, tap on ‘Profile’ to reach your TikTok profile.
- Tap on the icon in the top-right corner with three horizontal lines.
- Tap on ‘Settings and privacy.’
- Tap on ‘Privacy.’
- Under the ‘Discoverability’ section, toggle ‘Activity status’ on or off.
Remember, it will need to be on in order to see other people’s activity status!
Once it’s enabled, you will see a green dot next to their name and profile picture when they’re online. The time they were last active can also be found in your DMs inbox, as well as message threads with them.
Other Ways To See When They’re Last Active
Checking someone’s activity status directly is the most straightforward and reliable way to go about it.
But what if you don’t meet the criteria for this feature? For example, what if you aren’t above the age of 18, they have the feature disabled, or they aren’t following you?
Fortunately, there are still some things that you can do!
First things first, you can always check the date of their most recently posted video. Some people post several TikToks daily, and this can be a reliable way to determine when they were last active.
Next, make sure that you’re following them. Then, check out the accounts that they’re following themselves, and watch the recent videos that those accounts have posted.
TikTok shows the comments of people you’re following first, so it will be easy to see their comment if they’ve left a comment on that particular video. This will also allow you to see when the comment was posted – helping you pinpoint whether or not they’re online now.
Finally, if you’re a parent that wants to monitor your child’s TikTok usage, most modern smartphones running iOS or Android allow you to check how frequently a particular app has been used.
To view TikTok usage on iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open the ‘Settings’ app.
- Tap on ‘Screen Time.’
- Tap on ‘See All Activity.’
- Scroll down to see the list of apps that have been used, the length of time they’ve been used. You can filter this by day, or by week.
To view TikTok usage on Android, follow these steps:
- Open the ‘Settings’ app.
- Tap on ‘Digital Wellbeing and parental controls.’
- Tap on ‘Show your data.’
If you want to block TikTok from their phone entirely, you can learn to do so in this article here.
Conclusion
TikTok has an activity status feature built into it, that will allow you to see when someone is online.
However, it is disabled by default, and must be turned on before it can work. Additionally, the two of you must be following each other in order to see each other’s activity status.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful, and you were able to find out everything you were looking for.
If you have any other questions about TikTok, ask them below and I’ll be happy to help.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister