L26. A TikTok account before your first video

Allow about 20 minutes to create a personal TikTok account, complete its profile and check its privacy. You need a phone, internet access, and your own email address or phone number.

In class

The teacher shows the profile and privacy settings. Together, review fictional introductions and separate useful topic descriptions from details that reveal someone’s home or daily schedule.

Prepare your access

Install TikTok from Google Play on Android or the App Store on iPhone. You do not need advertising purchases or coins for a normal personal profile and a practice post. TikTok states a baseline minimum age of 13; country and feature rules can be stricter. Our route is for an adult user. Enter your real birthday during registration. [P220][P233]

Check access to your own email or phone number: it will receive the verification code.

Create the profile

If you already have your own account, sign in and go to step 4. You do not need another one. Use your own name and description instead of Olena’s sample details.

• Open the official app and choose Sign up. If the app opens to a stream of videos, called the feed, open Profile and find registration there.
• Choose Use phone or email. Enter your birthday, then choose Email and enter your own address. Complete code verification and set a password if requested. The screen order depends on the sign-up method. Read each field before selecting Next.
• Choose a username, such as olena.simple.projects, if available, and complete registration. You can skip sharing your phone contacts: uploading your own video does not require them.
• Open Profile → Edit profile. Set the name to “Olena” and the introduction to “Books, walks, and simple things to do at home”. Add your own image through the photo field if you wish. Save and check the result on the profile page.
• Open Profile → ☰ → Settings and privacy → Privacy. Enable Private account. Begin with a limited audience for practice. Lesson 28 will separately select the video’s audience. [P223]

[[VIS:s26_identity]]

Introduce your subject naturally

In ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, enter:

> [PROMPT] Write one short TikTok profile introduction. My subjects are books, walks, and organising a home. Avoid earnings promises, advertising language, and the word “guru”. One sentence is enough.

One possible result is “Books, walks and simple home projects”. Adjust it to your actual interests. The introduction should not disclose your home address, regular location, or schedule of time away from home. Profile information can remain visible even with a private account. [P224]

On the computer, open Documents\AI-practice\content\profiles.txt in Notepad, add your username and “TikTok: private”, then save the file. Store your sign-in method in your password manager.

> [FIX] For an age or account-verification error, use the offered help or appeal process. Do not change your birthday at random or buy a “ready-made account”.

Home practice

• On paper or in content\profile-privacy.txt, review this fictional introduction: “I love books. I walk near my home every day from seven until eight.”
• Rewrite it as one sentence, keeping the interests but removing the schedule. Do not change your account for this exercise.
• Explain what a stranger could learn from the original and why a private profile does not replace reviewing its text. Keep both versions for comparison.

Self-test

• Do you need coins to upload your own video?
• Your profile is private, but a video is intended only for you. Can you skip the post’s audience setting?
• What should you record for later work?

Useful terms

• Feed: the stream of videos available to watch.
• Username: the profile’s identifier.
• Post audience: the people allowed to view a particular publication.