This isn’t what I usually write about. It’s my personal experience, but it’ll be helpful to others too. Earlier this month, one of my TikTok accounts was hacked.
Actually, it was stolen by someone who had access to my email. He replaced my linked email account with his own, so I couldn’t log in any other way.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a phone number connected to that account. The best way to secure your TikTok or any other social account is to link a phone number. Keep your passwords up-to-date. You should use two-factor authentication under settings and privacy on your profile page.
So, how do you recognize an account that has been hacked?
- Username has changed.
- The password or phone number has been changed.
- Someone deleted or posted videos without permission.
- In the worst-case scenario, you cannot access your account.
Although I had no experience recovering hacked or stolen TikTok accounts, I gave it a try. Happy to say it was a success. I’ll show you how to recover a hacked or stolen TikTok account safely and legally.
First, this method may not work if the username of the hacked account is changed. If the username has not been changed, follow these steps. You can usually find your TikTok username in the URL after @ – https://www.tiktok.com/@example…
To verify accessibility, search with the username in the login section (PC or mobile). If the account is still active, tap the help section, which appears as a question mark.
Here’s the FAQ section; click ‘Recover Account’ to proceed.
Enter your hacked account’s username or e-mail address here…
Once there, tap TikTok support if you can’t access your account and submit a ticket for email support.
Next, you’ll see a form to fill out about your account. And here’s a screenshot…
Here are the questions and explanations you’ll need to fill out TikTok’s email support form…
- Topic: General inquiry
- Category: Hacked account
- Username: @example
- Sign-up date: Year and month
- Sign-Up Region: City and country
- Linked email or phone: Account registration email or phone number.
- Device used to log in: Registration device or device most often used.
- Linked accounts: Social media accounts – linked to the hacked account (no need to fill out if you didn’t use any).
- Contact Email: Email you’re currently using.
- Additional details: Any other information related to the stolen account.
- Attachments: You can upload up to 10 images.
They’ll respond to your contact email address within 1-2 days after you submit. It’ll come from SafetySupport ([email protected]).
If you still have access to your account, the email suggests that you take steps to secure it. But, there is a problem, though, because it is stolen or hacked. In that scenario, reply with the mentioned details to verify account ownership:
- Suspicious activity date
- Username
- Sign-up date: month and year
- Registered/First login location: city and country
- First/Previous login devices, phone or PC models, for example, Pixel 9 Pro.
- Email or number you used to set up (even if you no longer have access to it).
- Linked social account usernames and a screenshot of the logged profile page. No need if didn’t use any.
I included some extra details, such as the browsers. Within a couple of hours, I received an email stating that my ownership of the account had been verified. I loved it! They requested a phone number or email address to link the account.
I sent my current email. Then, after a couple of hours, my account was restored, and they emailed me stating, “We have successfully linked your email address to your TikTok account. You can now log in with your email address. Please keep your account secure by following the steps.” And it explains some security measures to keep an account safe.
This was how I recovered a hacked TikTok account. It was my personal experience, and I cannot guarantee that it will work with other hacking methods.
However, this article will be particularly helpful if you have an account that has been hacked or cannot access your linked email or phone.
I was lucky; the guy who hacked my account didn’t change my username. The story would have ended differently if he had changed the username. Ideally, you should keep your TikTok account secure to prevent it from being hacked or stolen.
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