How do you lock TikTok on Android?

Three different things people call locking TikTok

A private account decides who can follow you and watch your videos. It protects your profile from strangers, but anyone who picks up your phone still gets straight into the app.

A screen time passcode comes from TikTok's Daily screen time setting. It only appears once the day's limit is reached, so it limits time rather than locking anything.

A lock on the app asks for a PIN, pattern or fingerprint before TikTok opens at all. TikTok doesn't have one, so it has to come from your phone or an app locker.

Set a daily limit with TikTok's screen time passcode

When you reach the limit, TikTok lets you close the app or type a passcode it shows on the screen to keep watching. That makes it a pause, not a lock. For accounts aged 13 to 17 it is on by default at one hour.

For a teenager, Family Pairing is stronger: you link your own TikTok account to theirs, set their daily limit and schedule time away, and you get the passcode, not them. Teens can make their settings stricter but can't loosen the ones you set.

1. 01In TikTok, tap Profile at the bottom, then the Menu ☰ button at the top.
2. 02Tap Settings and privacy > Time and well-being > Screen time.
3. 03Turn on Daily screen time and choose a limit.

Hide your videos from strangers with a private account

With a private account you approve who can follow you and watch your videos, likes and LIVE videos. Your name, username and profile photo stay visible, and people can still find you in search. It changes nothing for someone who opens TikTok on your phone.

1. 01In TikTok, tap Profile, then the Menu ☰ button at the top.
2. 02Tap Settings and privacy > Privacy.
3. 03Turn on Private account.

Lock the TikTok app with your phone's settings

Some phones have an App lock built in. If yours has none, an app locker does the same job.

1. 01Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO: Settings > Apps > App lock, tap Turn on, set a pattern, then select TikTok and tap Use App lock.
2. 02vivo and iQOO: Settings > Fingerprint, face and password (or Security) > Privacy & app encryption, set a password and turn on TikTok.
3. 03Samsung: One UI has no app lock. Secure Folder keeps a separate copy of TikTok behind its own PIN, but the TikTok on your home screen stays open.Get it onGoogle PlayInstall
4. 04Pixel and other Android 15 phones: no app lock on stable Android. Private space holds a fresh copy of TikTok behind a separate lock, and your usual TikTok stays open.
5. 05OPPO, realme and OnePlus: search Settings for “App lock”, because its place differs between ColorOS versions. It uses a privacy password of its own.

Lock TikTok on any phone with an app locker

An app locker works the same on every brand, and its PIN is separate from your phone's, so someone who knows your screen lock still can't open TikTok. The same lock works for Instagram, and for the Play Store if you don't want TikTok reinstalled behind your back.

AppLock Master puts a PIN, pattern or fingerprint on TikTok and any other app you pick. It can hide TikTok's notification previews so messages don't show on the lock screen, takes a photo with the front camera after repeated wrong tries, and asks for your PIN before anyone can uninstall it. It's free, with ads.

1. 01Install AppLock Master and allow Usage access and Display over other apps, so it can see which app is opening and show the lock screen.
2. 02Tick TikTok in the list of apps, and anything else you want locked.
3. 03Choose a PIN, a pattern or your fingerprint, and set a security question in case you forget it.

Try it in AppLock MasterFree on Google Play · No accountGet it onGoogle Play

More detail: See who tried to open your TikTok →