“View-Only” mode means that most of your TikTok account’s posting and editing privileges have been restricted. To understand why this restriction was placed is to know how to lift it.
TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform in the business. Users can quickly and comprehensively create videos for a chance at a viral sensation.
With the platform’s increasing popularity, users need to post videos to maintain their following regularly.
That output may naturally be hindered if users are penalized for activities unbecoming of TikTok’s use and community policies. Among those penalties is “View-Only.”
Users in View-Only mode can enjoy the endless content that users have access to on TikTok while having their permitted videos banned remain active for viewers. Still, these users cannot post videos, comment, or even edit their profiles.
This temporary ban is a warning that any further violation of user activity regulations can result in a permanent ban from TikTok. Like any ban, it could worryingly be made over a misunderstanding.
View-Only mode may only last anywhere from 72 hours to roughly ten days. Still, you must understand how you came to be temporarily banned to avoid being further penalized.
If you want to have a better insight into your analytics, you can scrape TikTok views so that you can have more data on how your videos and other people’s videos are doing. This software also scrapes hashtags, posts likes, and followers
What Does View-Only Mean?
View-Only is a form of a temporary ban on TikTok that restricts a user’s posting activity.
This ban aims to discipline users with a history of posting content that violates the platform’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.
Although View-Only is a form of shadowbanning, in which a user is restricted without direct notification, it is typically the culmination of multiple warnings and temporary suspensions.
A penalty notification may inform you that you will be placed in View-Only mode after your subsequent violation.
This ban disables a user’s ability to post comments, videos, and LIVE streams to prevent further guideline violations. Other losses of features and visibility vary according to the offense.
View-Only bans are stated to last between 72 hours and a week but could last longer. It is generally considered a final warning on TikTok.
If you are found to violate guidelines after the View-Only ban is lifted, you could be permanently banned from TikTok.
Under most circumstances, your content has to be reported by fellow users to be penalized. The ensuing audit could be superficial, especially if the user has a history of being reported and restricted.
It is wise to educate yourself on what constitutes a reportable offense before posting content on TikTok. You should understand this if you get banned or contest a ban.
But first, you must understand exactly what you lose when your TikTok account is in View-Only mode.
1. You Can’t Post
The most consistent and pressing restriction in TikTok’s View-Only mode is a user’s ability to post videos.
Since video drafts are inherently private to their creator, they will remain and can even be edited while you are banned. You may even be able to start a video project while banned.
Of course, any effort to publish a video will be blocked through the duration of a View-Only ban. TikTok’s mods will remove the offending video(s).
Your profile and video feed will remain visible to permitted viewers during a ban. However, by shadowbanning, the platform’s promotion of your content could cease.
Your video cannot appear on other users’ “For You” page. Paid promotion of your content on TikTok would also be suspended.
The consistent output of content is essential for TikTok. You might be unable to afford the loss of posting privileges on TikTok for a minimum of 72 hours during a View-Only ban.
Total invisibility on the platform, even short-term, could prove catastrophic.
2. You Can’t Comment
When you are in View-Only mode on TikTok, your ability to post comments and send messages is also restricted.
View-Only bans are meant to presumptively prevent further offenses from users with a history of posting content that can be reported. That includes written communications with other users.
You can view your direct messaging features on TikTok but cannot send messages yourself. This cuts off all communication with the TikTok community, which can severely harm your standing.
You can still Like it on TikTok, though the visibility of this gesture is minimal. Restricting text-based content is rounded out by an inability to edit your profile.
Because profile photos and descriptions are subject to community guidelines, they cannot be changed and may be removed through the duration of a View-Only Ban.
3. You Can’t Go LIVE
For those who have access to TikTok’s LIVE feature, that feature will also be disabled through the duration of a View-Only ban.
If you are unfamiliar with TikTok LIVE, the feature allows you to Livestream your camera feed to communicate with the TikTok community.
It is only available for users who are at least 16 years old and have at least 1,000 followers. Access to this feature would indicate a uniquely large following.
Professional influencers and creators regularly utilize LIVE to maintain the visibility of their brands.
Users with a large following need to put out content regularly. Absence for up to 10 days can negatively affect an influencer’s brand, if not monetization.
If nothing else, bans can sour a user’s reputation. That is the crux of a professional content creator’s brand value.
Shadowbans are hard enough for the banned user to recognize and have fewer viewers. Still, there could be indications, including a relatively long-term absence.
If you have access to the LIVE feature, you have a reputation for continuous output.
There are potentially severe consequences to being placed in View-Only mode on TikTok. This temporary ban should be avoided as much as the permanent ban that could follow.
Don’t Post Anything That Violates TikTok Guidelines
View-Only mode is meant to be a penalty for violating TikTok’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. This is not usually aimed at first-time offenders.
Again, the View-Only mode is meant to curb the activities of users who have a history of being restricted for posting content removed for guideline abuses.
Content subject to these guidelines includes videos, profile and post text, comments, messages, and LIVE streams.
You will not be notified when placed on View-Only mode, but you must heed the warnings in preceding restrictions and content removal notifications.
Notifications of a ban and content removal can be found in your TikTok inbox’s Account Updates section.
Aside from a View-Only shadowban, a message about your restriction will be displayed when you first open TikTok during a ban.
View-Only bans are rarely enforced on users who have not committed severe guideline offenses. They are much more common for offenders who have been banned before.
Although you should brush up on and respect TikTok’s guidelines, you should at least learn the difference between minor abuses and “zero-tolerance” violations.
You Have Been Temporarily Banned
Depending on the nature and recurrence of guideline abuses on TikTok, users may be temporarily restricted from activity for a day. This is a precursor to a View-Only ban, then a permanent ban.
Minor guideline violations include unauthorized use of copyrighted content, solicitation, and nonsexual adult nudity. Such content is usually just removed by TikTok’s mods.
Zero-tolerance violations include explicitly violent or sexual content, harassment, hate speech, promotion of misinformation or harmful behavior, etc.
Temporary bans are usually reserved for zero-tolerance abuses. However, many minor cases of abuse and even a single previous ban can also result in restriction.
Potentially criminal activity can result in an immediate permanent ban. This activity includes fraudulent accounts, exploitation of children, and promotion of illegal acts and extremism.
Penalties are determined based on algorithms and human audits. There is no complete prediction of the consequences of a guideline offense on TikTok or its validity.
You shouldn’t have anything to worry about if you respect the platform’s policies.
How Long Does View-Only Mode Usually Last?
View-Only bans on TikTok are purported to last between 72 hours and a week. However, it is common for this ban to last longer than that.
Users in View-Only mode should anticipate this restriction lasting around ten days.
If the restriction lasts longer than that, consult support from TikTok. Bans have been known to last weeks, if not indefinite.
It ultimately depends on the context of your restriction and when mods decide to lift it. No clearly defined number of temporary restrictions exist before the View-Only mode is authorized.
More than likely, a series of minor offenses, especially after one or two temporary bans, View-Only restrictions will fall within three to seven days.
Any guideline violation that extends a ban beyond that point should be apparent. Be vigilant and prepared to address any algorithmic or human error behind any length of restriction.
How to Get Out of View-Only Mode
Any attempt to get around a ban or bannable offense on TikTok without the platform’s support could result in further penalties. The best way to get out of View-Only mode is to wait it out.
Of course, your restriction may seem disproportionate to the violation or even unwarranted. It could last for too long.
In this case, you may be able to contest the ban by contacting TikTok. This process will be explained later.
There is no other way to lift the View-Only ban ethically. You should be less concerned about doing so than about avoiding bans in the first place.
TikTok depends on user reports to track down offensive content. These reports are completely anonymous and are not subject to penalty if they are ruled baseless.
A baseless user report may not always be dismissed. A flawed audit, likely of a user without a history of penalties, can result in an erroneous ban.
Again, it is unlikely that you will run into this issue if you have been an upstanding member of the TikTok community.
1. Don’t Post Graphic Content
Be mindful about what you post on TikTok to avoid being banned. It is one thing for content to be removed for a minor guideline violation, but bannable offenses should be strictly avoided.
The easiest bannable mistake to make is to post violent content. It does not have to be that gory or harsh to be penalized.
TikTok is a popular platform for the prank, fail and fight videos that could be considered negatively influential. Try to avoid sharing footage that depicts graphic violence.
Otherwise, users should know better than to post material with graphic situations. Remember, such severe penalties as the View-Only mode are reserved for repeat offenders.
You could be temporarily restricted if your videos violate copyright or other policies. Continuing to post such content afterward may get you View-Only banned.
2. Don’t Post Misinformation
Text-based content like captions, bios, and comments is also subject to TikTok’s guidelines. It can be easy to get banned for abusive writing.
With growing concern about misinformation in social media, one of the most common bannable offenses is promoting false material that could be considered socially and politically dangerous.
Make sure that any obscure information or opinion you share on platforms like TikTok is safe and relatively accurate. Even info still in dispute that could incite unrest may be penalized.
Promoting violence, self-harm, eating disorders, extremism, and other dangerous rhetoric is also very seriously under guidelines.
You should also avoid hate speech, such as inflammatory remarks about a group of people. Inaccurate or cruel defamation of another person can also lead to content removal or banning. It could also result in a ban or content removal.
Hate speech and defamation are extreme extensions of TikTok’s strict anti-harassment policies.
Most users overlook bullying, trolling, and spamming in the comment section. Social media has been getting more serious about making civil discussion a cornerstone of community guidelines.
If you are concerned that mean-spirited or potentially dangerous text could harm fellow TikTok users, you have a responsibility to report it.
Of course, what constitutes offensive text is a lot of vagueness. Comments are particularly prone to erroneous reporting and penalties on TikTok.
Contact TikTok Support
If you would like to contest View-Only mode or any other form of ban or content removal, there are several ways to take the matter to TikTok.
You can appeal a penalty through the TikTok app itself. If a ban or removal notification is still in your inbox, open it and select “Appeal” to explain why you believe a penalty was baseless.
Of course, since View-Only mode is a shadowban, there is no direct notification through which you can contest that penalty.
Notifications of previous bans or removals may have been lost if they are at all relevant to the appeal you are making.
You can contest a ban like you would report any problem. Even if the ban is valid, if it lasts suspiciously long, call that issue to TikTok’s attention.
1. Go to your profile in the TikTok app.
2. Open the “hamburger” menu in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Go to “Settings and Privacy.”
4. Open “Report a problem” and fill out a report.
You can also email TikTok support at [email protected] or [email protected].
You are not likely to be further penalized for contacting TikTok to contest a ban or removal. You may even be able to overturn a permanent ban if you have a good enough case.
If you want to learn more about TikTok’s policies and your rights as a user, consult the platform’s help center.
Conclusion
TikTok could be the place to create the next viral video sensation. There is still a lot of responsibility in creating and discussing content on the platform.
If TikTok doesn’t consider you responsible enough to make relevant posts, you will temporarily lose the privilege in View-Only mode. This is likely your last warning before a permanent ban.
Of course, reporting and auditing your content could be a mistake to see if it falls within Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
Besides understanding your rights as a user who may be facing a baseless or overlong restriction, you need to understand what can get you restricted in the first place.
Avoid graphic violence, nudity, harassment, and other offensive content in your videos.
Be polite in your messages, and avoid any inflammatory remarks or misinformation growing more serious in social media policies.
The minimum 72 hours of a View-Only ban can be very inconvenient on TikTok. For professional content creators, it could be dire.
This serious penalty should still be respected alongside TikTok’s policies for responsible content creation. It’s all fun until you are considered a threat to an online civil community.
