
Maxime Dupré
9/11/2026

TikTok splits these controls in two. Your followers list only vanishes when the entire account goes private. The accounts you follow run on a separate switch, so that list can be sealed while your profile stays open. Both settings live on the same Privacy screen, and the whole job takes under a minute.
| What you want hidden | Path in the app | Final action |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts you follow | Profile → three-line icon → Settings and privacy → Privacy → Following list | Select Only me |
| Accounts following you | Profile → three-line icon → Settings and privacy → Privacy | Turn on Private account |
This is where the two settings part ways. Sealing off who you follow needs no account lock. A public profile keeps working exactly as before.
From that point you alone see the accounts you follow. Even people already following you lose access to it.
The switch has no effect on your feed. Videos from those accounts still appear, and nobody gets notified. If you would rather trim the list itself, you can unfollow accounts one at a time instead.
Concealing this roster requires the private setting. Once active, nobody sees any part of your page until you approve their request.
Anyone outside your approved circle now sees a notice explaining the page is closed. New follow requests land in a queue for approval.
Existing followers stay put, so nothing already granted gets revoked. That trade-off matters if you care about building a larger audience, since private accounts drop out of most discovery surfaces.
| Step | Hiding followers | Hiding following list |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Profile icon, bottom right | Profile icon, bottom right |
| 2 | Three-line icon, top right | Three-line icon, top right |
| 3 | Settings and privacy | Settings and privacy |
| 4 | Privacy | Privacy |
| 5 | Private account toggle on | Following list |
| 6 | Not applicable | Select Only me |
Locking the page does not blind people who already follow you. They keep viewing your follower roster. Cutting them off means dropping each one.
That account stops following immediately and gets no alert. Returning means visiting your page and tapping follow again, which now needs your approval.
For repeat offenders, blocking the account outright works better than removal. Blocked users cannot search for you at all, and there are clear signals that separate a block from a private profile.
The Following list control exists in the mobile app only. TikTok’s web version has no equivalent option, so a browser session will never show it.
An outdated app build is the second common cause. Update through the App Store or Play Store, then reopen Privacy.
Accounts registered under 16 may also see a reduced Privacy menu, since TikTok applies stricter defaults to younger users automatically.
| Situation | Best move |
|---|---|
| Neither list should be visible | Turn on Private account, then remove old followers |
| Only your subscriptions should vanish | Set Following list to Only me |
| Reach matters more than privacy | Skip the private toggle, adjust the following list alone |
| You want out entirely | Close the account permanently |
Knowing how to hide your following list on TikTok gives you a middle ground. Videos keep circulating while your subscriptions stay yours. Other controls on the same screen handle comment filtering and the Shared with You label that surfaces your profile to strangers. TikTok’s privacy defaults also shift by region, which shows up in the data on where TikTok users are concentrated.
Open Settings and privacy, tap Privacy, scroll to Following list, then select Only me. Your account stays public. Nobody, including current followers, can see which accounts you follow after that.
Approved followers can still see your following list on a private account. Set Following list to Only me as well if you want that list hidden from everyone.
No. TikTok sends no alert when you remove a follower. The person only finds out by visiting your profile and noticing the button reads Follow again.
Reddit threads usually trace this to app updates overwriting privacy preferences. Reopen Settings and privacy, tap Privacy, and confirm Following list still reads Only me after each major update.
No. Reddit users regularly test viewer sites and report failures. Once the list is set to Only me, TikTok stops serving that data publicly, so external tools return nothing.