Did you try sending a message to a person and it said you can’t send messages because of the user’s privacy setting in TikTok? And you want to know how to fix the issue? This article will explain in detail the problem and provide a solution if possible.
The main issue here is that the user has changed the privacy setting of their account not allowing anyone who is not their friend to send them messages.
This can be solved in two ways i.e. either you follow them and ask them to follow you back so that you can send the message or you can ask the user to change the setting of their account to allow the messages.
TikTok has set up various privacy features to address bullying and scamming and to promote privacy for its users. This is mainly due to the platform having a huge number of young users.
So to help you understand how the message privacy settings work, this article will explain why this issue happens, how the settings work and how you can solve this problem.
Please read this article in detail to understand more.
Why Can’t I Send Messages On TikTok?
As already stated, the main reason that you can’t send messages because of the user’s privacy setting in TikTok is that the user has a limited Who can send messages to them.
There are mainly three settings for this limitation.
Everyone
It is the default setting for messages in TikTok.
When you first create an account, the default message settings will be that Everyone can send you messages.
You can change it to other settings later.
Friends
You can change the message settings to friends so that only your friends can send you messages.
No One
This can also be chosen for the settings.
You can change the settings from Everyone to No One so that you do not receive any messages from any user on TikTok.
Ok so how do you change these settings?
Also Read: How To Send Direct Messages On TikTok?
Change Message Settings In TikTok
To change the message settings in TikTok, follow the below steps.
Step 1: Open the TikTok Application
Open the TikTok app on your device.
Log into your account if you haven’t already.
Step 2: Go To Profile Section
Next, go to the profile section by clicking the profile button on the bottom-right part of the screen.
Step 3: Click The Hamburger Icon
From the profile page, you can click the hamburger icon on the top-right corner of the screen.
Step 4: Go To Settings And Privacy
It will now show more options where you can see the ‘Settings and Privacy’ option.
Click the button to open up the Settings and Privacy page of TikTok.
Step 5: Select Privacy
Among the various options on the settings and privacy page, click the Privacy button and open the privacy settings page.
Step 6: Click ‘Who Can Send You Direct Messages’
Here, you will see many options related to the privacy of the account.
Scroll down to find the ‘Who can send you direct messages and click on it.
Step 7: Select your Option
It will now give you the three options that are mentioned and explained above i.e.
Everyone, Friends, and No one. You can choose any options you like.
With the above steps, you can now set up who can send you messages on TikTok.
In this case, particularly we do not know if the user to whom you want to send messages has set to receive messages from friends or disabled the messages.
So to solve this issue, we need to take both conditions into account.
Also Read: How To Bring Chat To The Top On TikTok?
Can’t Send Messages Because Of User’s Privacy Setting In TikTok
So with the above-mentioned conditions, the possible solution for the issue of ‘Can’t send messages because of user’s privacy setting in TikTok’s are listed and explained below.
Follow The User In TikTok And Ask Them To Follow You Back
This solution is particularly for the condition that the user has only enabled messages from friends.
In such a case, you can follow the user by going to their profile and clicking the Follow button.
After that, you can reach out to the user and ask them to follow you back.
This will make both of you friends with each other and hence allowing you to send messages to the user.
But what if the user has set up to not receive any messages from anyone?
Ask The User To Enable The Message Settings To Allow Anyone/Friends To Send Them Messages
This solution is the only way you can solve the issue.
You can reach out to the person and ask them to change the setting to allow anyone/friends to send them messages.
If they agreed to change the settings and let anyone send them messages, you will now be able to send them messages.
But if they only changed the setting to allow friends to send them messages, you can follow the first solution by following them and in return ask them to follow you back.
Also Read: How To Disable Chat From Users You Don’t Follow?
How Do I Change Privacy Settings On TikTok DM?
TikTok, being one of the largest social media platforms is a very attractive place for people with bad intentions like scamming and harassing.
To discourage these types of people, TikTok has implemented various privacy features in its app.
Users can have various choices on people who can send messages.
So, when you first create your TikTok account, the default settings will allow anyone to send you a message.
And if you want to change the setting, you can follow the same steps from the ‘Change Message Settings In TikTok’ section of this article. Scroll up to find the section.
Why Can’t I Send TikToks To Someone?
If you are unable to send TikToks to any of your friends then there may be various reasons for that.
The first thing is that it may be a result of privacy settings or you may not be authorized to send messages to anyone.
Below are some of the reasons why you can’t send TikTok to someone.
You Haven’t Confirmed Your Phone Number
TikTok needs you to confirm your phone number before you can send messages to anyone on the platform.
This is to make sure that a real person can only send messages on the platform.
So, you can go to the settings and privacy page of your TikTok and check if you have a verified phone number or not.
If not, you can add the phone number there and verify it before trying to send messages to anyone again.
The User Have Privacy Limitations
Another reason may be that the user you are trying to send the message has limited the messages to their ‘Friends’ only.
Friends in TikTok is categorized as when you both follow each other.
So, try following the user on TikTok and ask them to follow back.
This will make both of you Friends and you will now be able to send messages to the user.
Also Read: How To Pin Important Conversations On TikTok?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Some frequently asked questions related to the topic are taken from the internet.
Please go through the questions and their answers to understand more about TikTok.
What Are Direct Messages On TikTok?
Direct messages or DMs in TikTok are simply a way of sending text messages or multimedia messages to another user of the same platform.
It is the most common way which is used to communicate within the platform.
But there are still limitations on who can send messages to whom.
Can You Still Message On TikTok?
Yes, you can still send messages on TikTok but there have been some changes to who can send messages to whom.
For example, any user under the age of 16 cannot send or receive messages on the platform.
And every user must have a verified phone number connected to their account to be able to send messages.
Also, every user has the option to limit from whom they can receive messages.
The privacy setting of TikTok can be used to do so.
Can You Message Someone On TikTok Without Following Them?
No, you cannot send messages to anyone on the platform if you are not following them.
You must first follow them to send messages. Also, the user can limit receiving messages from you if you are just followers and not friends.
Every user can choose among Everyone, Friends, and No one to receive messages from.
Can You Tell If Someone Read Your TikTok Message?
No, TikTok does not have a read receipt function.
So, you can never tell if anyone has seen your message or not.
Though there has been speculation that this function will be added soon, there has been no confirmation regarding it.
Conclusion
Therefore, to fix when you can’t send messages because of the user’s privacy setting in TikTok, you can either follow them, be friends with them or ask them to change the privacy settings.
All the possible reasons for this issue are pointed out and explained in this article.
Some suggestions are also made to solve it and the setup steps are also provided on how you can manage the message settings of TikTok.
