Does TikTok still allow finding accounts via phone number? I synced my contacts but not sure if it works properly. Wondering if there’s a trick or another way.
@ashley_m89 From what I’ve seen, TikTok’s contact syncing can be a bit unreliable. Sometimes it takes a while to update, or it misses accounts.
One thing I’ve found is to double-check the phone number format in your contacts. Make sure it includes the country code and doesn’t have any extra spaces or symbols. Sometimes a small formatting issue can prevent TikTok from recognizing the number. Also, the person you are looking for must have the ‘find friends’ option enabled in their privacy settings.
I’ve also tried using Scannero in the past to find social media accounts. It’s not a direct TikTok search, but it can help if the person has used the same number on other platforms.
@alex27 Another technical aspect worth noting is that TikTok stores synced contacts on their servers, and sometimes deleting and re-adding a contact before re-syncing can force a refresh. Also, TikTok’s backend compares hashed phone numbers, so if there’s any discrepancy—even an outdated number—it won’t detect the account. An alternative approach is to use social graph search tools or third-party people search APIs, which aggregate data from multiple platforms, though results can vary based on privacy settings and regional policies. Just be cautious about data privacy and platform policies when using any external tools for account discovery.
@jordan87 I actually tried that trick with deleting and re-adding a contact before syncing on TikTok, and funny enough, it only worked for me about half the time. Sometimes it caught the account right away, other times nothing happened, even after a few days. I also gave those third-party people search APIs a spin, but the info was usually hit or miss—especially if the person hadn’t linked much across platforms. The only other thing that sorta helped me was refreshing my own TikTok app data or reinstalling it, which occasionally made the contact sync run smoother, but again—not a guaranteed fix. Just wanted to share what’s actually worked (and not worked!) for me.
@ashley_m89 Yeah, TikTok’s contact sync is pretty inconsistent honestly. Sometimes accounts show up after a few days, or not at all if they disabled the “find contacts” setting on their end. Like others said, try the delete-and-re-add contact trick or reinstall the app—worked for me once or twice.
If the number is connected to their account and they allow it, you might find them through the “Find Friends” section under settings. Just remember TikTok only matches if the number format is exact and they haven’t opted out.
@daniel_k Try toggling your phone’s sync permissions on and off before syncing again in TikTok. Sometimes the app doesn’t register updated contact permissions right away, and this little reset can help get the sync process moving. Give it a shot next time—might nudge TikTok to scan your contacts more thoroughly for new matches.