How to Find a TikTok User ID

Every TikTok account has an internal numeric ID alongside its @username. Unlike the username, the ID does not change when the owner renames the account, which is why developers, researchers, marketers, and anyone tracking an account over time care about it. Searches such as "TikTok user ID", "TikTok UID", and "how to find TikTok user ID" all point to the same need: a number that identifies the account for certain.

This guide explains what the user ID and the related secUid are, how they differ from the username and from the identifiers in TikTok's official developer tools, how to look up an account's numeric ID from its username or a video link, what the ID is useful for, and what it does not reveal. It also covers why you will not find the ID on the profile page.

What a TikTok user ID is

A TikTok user ID, sometimes written as UID, is a long number that TikTok assigns to an account when it is created. It is the key TikTok's systems use to refer to that account internally, and it stays attached to the account for its lifetime. The username, by contrast, is a human-friendly label that can be changed, and the display name is an even looser label that anyone can set to anything.

Because the number is permanent, it is the most reliable way to say "this exact account" even if the person later changes their handle, display name, or profile photo. That is why it shows up in data exports, developer documentation, and analytics tools, and why people searching for an ID are usually trying to track an account across changes.

User ID, secUid, and username compared

Three identifiers are often mixed up. They look similar in conversation, but they behave differently.

• Username (@handle): visible on the profile and in links. Unique at any moment, but the owner can change it.
• Numeric user ID (UID): a long number, permanent for the account, not shown on the profile page.
• secUid: a longer, encoded string used by TikTok's web and app interfaces to refer to the account. It is also stable for the account and often used in requests alongside the numeric ID.

There is a fourth term you may meet if you build apps with TikTok's official developer tools: the open ID. It is an identifier TikTok gives an app when someone authorizes that app to access their account, and it is specific to the app. It is not the same as the numeric user ID, so do not expect the two to match.

Why the ID isn't on the profile page

Open any TikTok profile and you will see the display name, the username, the bio, the counts, and the videos. The numeric ID is not among them. TikTok treats it as an internal detail and does not display it, which is why you cannot just read it off the screen. The ID is available through data sources that read TikTok's underlying data, which is how an ID finder gets it.

You may see guides that tell you to dig through a page's source code or network requests to find the ID. TikTok's pages are protected against automated scraping, the structure changes frequently, and the instructions often stop working. A dedicated lookup is simpler and does not depend on how your browser happens to load the page.

How to find a TikTok user ID from a username

1. Open the TikTok ID Finder.
2. Type the account's username in the box. The @ is optional, and you can also paste a profile link.
3. Select the button to look up the account and wait a few seconds.
4. Read the User ID and secUid in the result, and use the Copy button next to each to save it.

The values come from a third-party data provider, since TikTok does not show them publicly. If the provider cannot return a field, the tool shows "Not available" instead of guessing. If the account does not exist, the tool reports that no public account was found. You can see the full profile details, including bio and counts, with the TikTok User Finder.

How to find the user ID from a video link

If you have a link to a TikTok video, you can get the numeric ID of the account that posted it. Paste the link, including a shortened vm.tiktok.com link, into the TikTok Account Finder. The result shows the poster's username and display name along with the numeric ID, when the data provider supplies it, and also the video's caption, sound, date, and public stats.

Be careful not to confuse the ID of the video with the ID of the account. A video link contains a long number too, which identifies that single video. The user ID is a different number that identifies the person who posted it.

What the user ID is useful for

• Tracking an account across a rename. If an account changes its handle, the ID lets you confirm that two usernames belong to the same account. See how to find an old TikTok username.
• Record keeping. Brands, agencies, and researchers store the ID next to the handle so their records survive changes.
• Reporting and disputes. An ID is unambiguous when you contact TikTok support about a specific account.
• Developer and analytics work. Many tools and data services ask for the numeric ID or secUid to fetch an account's data.
• Verifying impersonation. A copycat account has a different ID than the original, even when the handle looks nearly identical.

What the user ID does not tell you

The ID is only an identifier. It does not reveal the owner's name, email address, phone number, or location, and it does not unlock private content. It also does not give you the account's creation date. Some websites claim to decode a registration date from the number using a formula, but that is not a documented or verified technique, and presenting its output as fact would be fabricating data. This site does not show a creation date for that reason.

Treat the ID as a label for certainty, not as a way to learn more about a person. If you need to identify someone in real life, the ID will not help, and a public account will show only what its owner chose to share.

Storing IDs without corrupting them

A practical problem catches many people: spreadsheets and some programming tools mangle very long numbers. TikTok's numeric IDs are long enough that spreadsheet programs may display them in scientific notation or round the last digits, which silently turns a valid ID into a different one. If you save IDs in a spreadsheet, format the column as text before pasting them, so the digits stay exactly as copied.

• Use the Copy button instead of retyping, which avoids transposed digits.
• Store the ID as text, not as a number, in spreadsheets and databases.
• Keep the username, the ID, and the date you looked it up in separate columns, so you know when the pairing was true.
• In code, treat the ID as a string. Many languages cannot represent such large integers precisely.

A simple tracking workflow for brands and agencies

If you manage partnerships with several creators, a small habit saves a lot of trouble later. When you sign someone up, look up their ID and secUid and record them next to the handle. Add the profile link and the date. When you review the list months later, run each handle again. If a handle no longer resolves, search for the creator's new name and compare the ID: a match confirms it is the same account, and a mismatch is a warning sign.

This also helps when creators grow or rebrand. Contracts and payments refer to a person, and the ID ties them to a specific account even if the name changes. It is cheap insurance against impersonation, because a scammer can copy a handle and a photo but cannot copy the ID.

Handling IDs responsibly

A user ID is not secret, but it is still a persistent identifier for a person, and keeping lists of IDs linked to other personal information can raise privacy obligations. If you store IDs for people in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or other places with data protection laws, treat them as personal data: collect only what you need, keep it only as long as necessary, and be ready to delete it on request.

Do not use IDs to build profiles of private individuals, to track people who have not agreed to it, or to evade blocks and bans. The ID is a tool for accuracy and record keeping, and that is the use it is best suited for.

Fetching user data with the official developer tools

If you are building an application and want data for accounts, the right route is TikTok's official developer platform. It provides authorized access for people who log in to your app and agree to share data, returning information such as a display name and avatar for that user. It does not offer an open lookup of arbitrary accounts, so it is not a substitute for a public username lookup, and the identifiers it returns are app-specific.

For public information about accounts you are not authorizing, third-party data providers fill the gap, with trade-offs. They are paid services with usage limits, they depend on the platform's structure, and their output can change. Build with the assumption that any field may be missing, and handle that case gracefully, as this site does.

Troubleshooting a lookup that returns no ID

• Check the spelling of the username, including underscores and periods.
• Confirm the account exists by running the handle through the User Finder.
• Try again after a few minutes in case the data provider was temporarily unavailable.
• Remember that private accounts, deleted accounts, and banned accounts may return nothing.
• If you only see a display name and every other field says not available, the provider could not answer and only TikTok's basic data was used.