TikTok Launches Limited Test of New Viewer History Display

TikTok has officially launched a limited test of its new ‘post view history’ option, which will enable users to see who among their followers has viewed their TikTok clips, if said viewers opt-in to letting their activity be tracked.

As you can see in this example, shared by social media expert Matt Navarra, some TikTok users are now being notified of the option, which only relates to users that you follow, or who follow you, providing another measure of insight into your TikTok community engagement.

The feature was first spotted in testing in January this year.

Some have expressed surprise at TikTok launching this as an option, given the potential for it causing more angst, if, say, people you’d rather avoid continuously show up in your viewed lists.

But for one, it only relates to people who are already in your TikTok community (so if it’s someone that you’re looking to avoid, you’ve likely already blocked them anyway). While also, TikTok actually used to share similar info, as a means to increase connections in the app.

TikTok stopped sending these notifications early last year, amid various investigations into its data sharing processes (and several high-profile cases of TikTok stalkers). But given that it was once an option, it’s not a huge surprise to see it come back, albeit in a different form.

Though what the actual, practical value of such might be is debatable

Maybe there’s something in this for aspiring influencers, in reaching out to potential collaborators who’ve checked out their stuff, or maybe it could work for hook-ups, if that’s what you want to use TikTok for.

But much like the same feature on LinkedIn, mostly, it seems pretty useless. I mean, it’s somewhat interesting to know that somebody from a company that you’d like to work for has checked out your profile – but if they did, and they didn’t feel compelled to get in touch, does it really matter?

The value seems of such even more limited on TikTok – but again, maybe there is something there in terms of potential business connections, and establishing contact with collaborators based on interest.

Either way, I can imagine a lot of people will opt in, though it’ll only lead to more questions about reach (maybe they’re not seeing my posts) and friendships (she’s not even checking out my clips).

Also, there is still the stalker element, which could lead to more potential angst and conflict.

TikTok has confirmed that this is in testing, with no plans for a full rollout as yet.