I Can’t See My TikTok Video On My Profile — What’s Wrong?

Once you hit the “Post” button on your new TikTok content, it’s time to sit back — at least for a few minutes — and wait for views, likes, and comments to start rolling in. Even if you’re not a popular influencer on the social media platform, you can hope to see some engagement on your TikTok post relatively quickly.

But…crickets. There’s no activity at all on your video. You go to check on your post — and it’s not there on your profile. What went wrong?

There are several possibilities. Let’s check them out.

1. Your Video Is Being Reviewed

When a TikTok video is uploaded, it’s automatically reviewed by the app’s automated systems. If there are indications that the post might violate TikTok’s terms and conditions or Community Standards, it won’t go live until a human takes a look at it, too.

The process of automatic review generally takes just seconds or minutes, which is why most videos show up in your TikTok profile almost as soon as you post them. If there are red flags like questionable language or a history of penalized content, though, it usually takes as long as several days before the issue is resolved. For complex posts, it can take even longer.

Videos under review by moderators usually appear in your profile with an “Under review” flag, but that doesn’t always happen. They may not be visible at all.

If it’s been hours, your video still isn’t showing, and you haven’t been flagged or received notice of a violation in your notifications, think about whether you might have included problematic material in your post. If so, you might want to create a “cleaner” version.

If it’s been days, you can contact TikTok support to ask about your post’s status. Be aware, though, that it can take quite a while to get an answer back from support as well. It might be smart to start considering that new version of your video.

2. You Might Be Shadowbanned

A previous infraction that isn’t serious enough for a formal penalty or a ban on your TikTok account can lead to what’s called a “shadowban.” You’re not notified when the system shadowbans you; you’re just not able to access some of the app’s functions and your videos may be hidden (or they may receive significantly less exposure than usual).

Shadowbans usually last 2-14 days, and may be lifted earlier if you remove any problematic content that you’ve posted and wait a while before uploading more videos.

3. You’ve Taken Someone Else’s Word About the Problem

Have you checked to make sure there’s a problem? A friend or family member may not be able to see your video, but that would happen if you accidentally (or deliberately) made the post or your account private.

Take a look at the content grid on your TikTok profile page to be sure that the visibility issue is really a TikTok problem and not just a mistaken privacy setting.

4. Technical Issues

It’s quite possible that the problem has nothing to do with the content of your post. It could be due to any of these issues:

• TikTok occasionally experiences downtime for some or all of its functions. Wait a few minutes to see if the video appears, or check with a friend to see if they’re also having problems.
• You might be having problems with your connection. Make sure your Internet signal is strong, try switching to a different network, or just move closer to your router. A poor connection can prevent video uploads from completing.
• Your app or phone might be the issue. Try restarting the app and/or your phone, clearing your app cache, or upgrading to the latest TikTok version, and then seeing if the upload completes. If not, try posting the video again. That often resolves the issue.

Still no luck? If you’re confident that your content didn’t violate TikTok’s rules, contact support to see if they can help further.

And to avoid the agony of waiting…and waiting…and waiting to see your video approved by the system and its moderators, it could be a good idea to read (or re-read) TikTok’s Community Standards to be sure your content is aboveboard and unlikely to trigger a manual review.