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TikTok won't let you follow someone if you've reached your daily or total following limit. It's also possible that TikTok is down, the TikTok app has issues, your VPN is causing problems, TikTok's cache is corrupted, TikTok is outdated, or TikTok needs to be reinstalled.
Are you having trouble following someone's account on TikTok? If so, the app may have a glitch, or you may have exceeded your daily or total limit for following people on this platform. We'll give you more details about these restrictions as well as offer you tips to fix your problem in this guide.
You've Followed Too Many Accounts Today
One reason you can't follow accounts on TikTok is that you've followed too many accounts today. TikTok limits the number of accounts you can follow on a daily basis to limit bot and spam activity on its platform. While TikTok specifies no official number for this limit, some sites suggest that that number is 200 accounts per day.
If you've followed that number of accounts today, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to be able to start following accounts again. But hey, if you've followed 200 in a day, then you certainly have some fresh content to enjoy while you wait for your quota to reset!
You've Reached Your Total TikTok Following Limit
Another reason you can't follow someone on TikTok is that you've exceeded your total limit for following accounts on this platform. Again, TikTok specifies no number of total accounts you can follow, but some sites suggest that that number is 10,000.
If you're following that number of accounts already, try unfollowing a few accounts and then see if you can follow additional new accounts. If you've hit the maximum TikTok follow threshold, trimming back your follow list to make room for new additions might fix your issue.
TikTok May Be Experiencing an Outage
Like all other internet-enabled services, TikTok isn't always up. You may be trying to follow an account when the platform's servers are down, causing you not to follow your accounts.
In this case, check the platform's status by visiting a site like Downdetector. This site will tell you if TikTok is experiencing any server-side issues. And if that's the case, you'll have to wait until the company fixes the issue and brings the service back up.
Use TikTok's Web App to Follow Someone
When you have trouble following someone from your phone, use TikTok's desktop site and see if you can follow your accounts there. This will help you find out whether your issue is device-specific or site-specific.
To do that, open a web browser on your desktop computer and access TikTok.com. On the site, sign in to your account. Then, access the profile of the person you want to follow.
On the profile page, click the "Follow" button.
If the button turns "Messages," you've succeeded in following that account. This means the issue is with your smartphone, and in this case, follow the troubleshooting tips below to resolve your problem.
Turn Off the VPN on Your Phone
If you have a VPN running on your phone, that app will route your internet data via a third-party server. Sometimes, this setup doesn't work well for some internet-enabled apps like TikTok. In this case, turn off your VPN and see if that fixes your issue.
If your issue is resolved after disabling the VPN, use another location in your VPN app and see if you can still follow people on TikTok. If you can't follow people regardless of what location you choose in your VPN app, TikTok may have banned all the IP addresses of your VPN. In this case, you can consider using a new VPN app.
Clear TikTok's Cache on Your Phone
TikTok stores various cache files on your phone to improve your app usage experience. Sometimes these files build up and start causing various issues in the app. Not being able to follow someone may be the result of a bad app cache.
In this case, clear your TikTok app cache, and your issue will likely be resolved. TikTok stores two cache types, and you can clear the system cache only on an Android phone.
Delete TikTok's App Cache (on iPhone and Android)
To remove TikTok's app cache, first, launch TikTok on your phone. In the app, navigate to Profile > three horizontal lines > Settings and Privacy > Free Up Space. On the open page, next to "Cache," tap "Clear."
And that's it.
Remove TikTok's System Cache (on Android)
To remove TikTok's system cache, then on your Android phone, navigate to Settings > Apps > TikTok > Storage. On this page, choose "Clear Cache."
Your system cache is now deleted.
Update TikTok on Your iPhone or Android Phone
If you're using an old version of the TikTok app on your phone, that may be why you can't follow accounts. Old app versions often have many issues, and you can resolve them by updating your app to the latest version.
To update TikTok on an Android phone, open Google Play Store, find "TikTok", and tap "Update."
If you're on an iPhone, visit App Store, select "Updates," and choose "Update" next to "TikTok."
Uninstall and Reinstall TikTok on Your Smartphone
If TikTok still won't let you follow accounts, your app's core files might be faulty. In this case, your best solution is to remove and reinstall the app on your phone.
You don't lose your videos, bookmarked items, or any other data when you remove TikTok. However, note that you'll lose any unpublished videos (drafts) when you delete TikTok.
To uninstall TikTok on an Android phone, open your phone's app drawer and find "TikTok". Tap and hold on the app and choose "Uninstall." Select "OK" in the prompt.
Then, redownload the app by visiting Google Play Store, finding "TikTok", and tapping "Install."
If you're on an iPhone, tap and hold on "TikTok" on your home screen and choose Remove App > Delete App. Then, redownload the app by opening App Store, finding "TikTok", and selecting the download icon.
Your TikTok follow issue should now be resolved, and you can start following accounts from your iPhone or Android phone. Enjoy!
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