Ok I commented this on a recent post here, but I’d like to share this on a separate post as well since I’ve noticed a couple of threads popping up re using VPNs for TikTok:
BACKGROUND: I asked my friend in the US to make an account for me (I provided him my email) and asked him to post 1 video. It was weird though because I saved a video draft using my phone (I live in Asia) and I instructed him to post it with his phone in the States. But for some reason, the draft didn’t show up on his own device even if we were using the same account. I ended up sending my pre-made video to him (which, I’ve noticed, would perform worse compared to videos directly made on TikTok. At least that’s my experience). Now, I post on that account. I turn on VPN + remove SIM prior to posting new content. Oh, and I’m an art account (usually make work in progress until final artwork videos).
Anyways, I’ve made 10-15 videos and here are some takeaways:
Yes, using a VPN can make your videos be shown to other countries. I usually set mine to US. But it can be a hit or miss. I’ve had videos wherein majority of the viewers are still from my country (but it can reduce that percentage to as low as 20-30% of total views), and others wherein I had audiences from Europe, South Africa, etc, but not even a % from the States.
I think the type of VPN you use would be crucial. I tried a free VPN for my first week (WindScribe), and that wasn’t really great because majority of my views still came from my country. The 1 week ExpressVPN trial I used gave better results for me and I have 2 videos wherein over 50% of the views are from the US. But here’s the bummer …
My views aren’t great. And I honestly don’t think my videos suck! They usually hit 400-500 views in an hour, and there’s usually 30-50% like-view ratios, several comments, sometimes shares, and watch time is at 80-100%. Then views just completely stop. I think the TikTok still has a bias against VPN users. ALTHOUGH I’ve seen a TikTok video a few days ago of someone who blatantly said that she was using VPN on that video (she was in HK) because TikTok was getting banned there. Checked the comments and a lot were from the UK. I think that video had 10s of thousands of views? Maybe over a hundred.
CONCLUSION: VPNs can be a hit or miss. The TikTok algorithm is generally weird and using a VPN can be a heavy disadvantage to potential views (but gaining some views from your target audience abroad is better than none right? I literally experimented posting the same videos without VPN and while I had a little more views…100% from my country based on analytics, I barely got any likes or comments compared to if I post them with VPN HAHA dedt).
I wish my videos can break 1000 views (only one hit 15k. BUT that was since a famous influencer with over a million followers made a duet with me. Two other videos reached over 1000 views. The rest usually stop by 500/600). If only TikTok gave us a chance. Or better yet…give the option for creators to present their videos not based on their geolocation or SIM card, which I think, is so constricting for an app that could’ve broken boundaries imposed by geography zzz.
Drafts are only available on the device you make them on, and if you were to delete tiktok from the device where your drafts are saved, the drafts are erased as well and you can’t get them back. Hope this helps
Did you still get recommendations from people in your country on your FYP? Because I still do even though I use a VPN and it bothers me. Makes me feel like my VPN is not working. I’m facing the same situation and whenever I’m about to post content I turn on a VPN (I use Betternet or Velocity), head to Google to use an IP checker and it usually says I’m in the US, then I go to funimation for good measure because it’s not available in my country and when it works then I know the VPN works. But after a few days after the analytics come in I notice my international views are high but after a while with VPN off they return to being heavily from my country. Please help, is tiktok immune to VPNs?
hi , I installed tiktok today by using a vpn as tiktok is banned in my country , I installed a free vpn on my phone and changed my country to London and installed tiktok and it is working fine but the only issue I’m facing so far is that I’m unable to follow anyone , I tried following some accounts several times (like prolly 5 to 6 times) but when I reopen my app , it shows 0 following and I’m struggling with that shit , any tips on how can I fix that?
i doubt this will be seen but i wanted to ask if it’s necessary to take out your sim since mine is fully inside my phone and i’d have to open the whole phone for it, thank you in advance
A huge part of how they detect your location is also your App Store / Google play country. If it’s set to India for example, every app you download will know which region you’re in. You have to change your store location to whatever country you would like your content to appear in and then re-install all the social apps. Also removing your sim card only when you post doesn’t do much. Your number is still associated to that phone and even tiktok knows it if you’ve used it while having the sim card in. You’re going to need a sim card or eSim from the country you’re trying to reach. Then you’ll see that even the tiktok live page is showing content only from the US or whatever country SIM and App store location you have.
I want to hire people from Asia to perform live streams on TikTok. If they use a VPN to select the USA as their location, would their live stream likely be shown to the US audience?
Have you tried this with your TikTok account? How did it go? My third VPN just expired HAHAHA so I’m considering using another one. But right now I’m taking a break from creating vids.
they detect your location from the country you’ve set your App Store / Google play store. Also your sim card and Esim. Unless you change all of those you will always get content from your country instead of another one.
