Can You Get Banned for Buying Followers on TikTok?

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Carolyn Howell

Last Updated: Oct 24, 2024

TikTok Tips
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Buying followers on TikTok might seem like a quick way to boost your numbers, but it comes with serious risks. Faking it until you make it seems acceptable, especially when you’re just starting. TikTok’s algorithm is designed to detect suspicious activities, such as rapid follower growth from fake accounts. But can you get banned for buying followers on TikTok? It’s important to grow your followers organically to avoid violating TikTok’s community guidelines and risking your account. Keep reading to learn more about these potential consequences and safer alternatives for growing your audience.

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Is It Safe To Buy TikTok Followers? 

The short answer is no. Buying followers does risk harming your account’s reputation and visibility. But can you get banned for buying TikTok followers? While TikTok may not immediately ban your account for buying followers, it does violate their guidelines. TikTok’s algorithm can detect fake followers, which can lead to penalties. 

Not only does it violate TikTok’s community guidelines, but buying followers can also decrease your engagement rate. Fake followers won’t interact with your content, which signals to TikTok that your videos aren’t resonating with users. This will potentially lower your visibility on the platform. Instead, focus on organic growth to build a genuine audience and avoid these risks.

What Happens When You Buy TikTok Followers?

If you buy TikTok followers, you won’t necessarily receive a ban immediately, but it can still lead to problems. TikTok’s Community Guidelines state that accounts engaging in fake engagement may see their fake followers removed. 

What happens if you buy TikTok followers? You won’t get increased engagement from these bought followers. When you buy TikTok followers, it can also distort your audience insights. This makes it harder to understand your real audience’s preferences and engagement habits. Your analytics will give you a lower engagement rate based on your higher follower count. This, in turn, affects how you tailor your content strategy moving forward. 

Moreover, platforms like TikTok continuously improve their detection of fake engagement, so the risk of penalties grows over time. TikTok may limit your visibility on the platform, which can result in fewer views and lower engagement overall.

You also risk losing credibility if users or brands discover that you have many fake followers. It’s important to consider whether the short-term follower boost is worth the potential long-term damage to your account and reputation.

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What Can Get You Banned on TikTok?

There are several reasons why your TikTok account could get banned, especially if you violate TikTok’s Community Guidelines. These violations can range from inappropriate content to bypassing existing restrictions on the platform. TikTok takes these issues seriously, and failure to adhere to their guidelines could lead to temporary or permanent bans.

Here are the common reasons you could get banned on TikTok:

  • Not meeting TikTok’s requirements: For example, failing to meet the minimum age outlined in TikTok’s Terms of Service.
  • Impersonating someone: Creating an account that impersonates another person or entity.
  • Severe content violations: This includes posting content that promotes violence, exploitation, human trafficking, or depicts non-consensual sexual acts or torture.
  • Evading bans: Creating a new account to bypass restrictions or a permanent ban on your original account.
  • Reaching the violation limit: Accumulating too many policy or feature violations.
  • Multiple Intellectual Property violations: Repeatedly violating TikTok’s Intellectual Property Policy.

TikTok accounts that hit a certain number of strikes can also face penalties, but these strikes expire after 90 days. Once they expire, they no longer count toward a potential ban.

Does buying TikTok followers get you shadowbanned? Yes, buying TikTok followers can put your account at risk of a shadowban. TikTok may detect fake engagement and remove followers, leading to lower reach on your videos. 

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Key Factors To Consider When Purchasing TikTok Followers

You might wonder, “Will TikTok ban you for buying followers?” or “Is buying followers illegal on TikTok?” We’ve answered these questions, but now let’s explore other important factors you need to consider before buying TikTok followers.

Boosting Growth

Buying followers can temporarily boost your account, making it appear more popular at first glance. However, real growth comes from genuine engagement, like comments, shares, and likes, not just a higher follower count. If you want to see a boost in growth, focus on building a content strategy that attracts real followers interested.

Building Credibility

A high follower count might help you appear more credible to potential followers, but it’s not enough on its own. People also look at the quality of your content and how active your real followers are. Without authentic engagement, your profile may come off as untrustworthy, which could drive away new users. An account with a lot of followers but low numbers of likes and comments will not look credible. 

Opening Collaboration Opportunities

Having more followers can make you more attractive to brands looking for partnerships or collaborations. However, brands will also look at engagement on your posts, not just a high number of followers. Genuine interactions on your videos will make a bigger impact when brands decide if you’re a good fit for their campaigns.

Be Cautious and Focus on Authenticity

While buying followers can offer short-term advantages, focusing on long-term, authentic growth is more beneficial. Stay cautious with third-party services, and aim to build a real connection with your audience for sustainable success.

Sustain Organic Growth on TikTok With Engaged Followers

Social media growth is often daunting for an aspiring creator or startup brand on other platforms. Popularity is the name of the game. But TikTok levels the playing field. With its highly intuitive recommendation algorithm, TikTok makes it easy for every user to build a solid presence.

Whatever your niche, TikTok will match your content with the right audience. When producing your videos, just tap into their interests and current trends in your industry, and you’ll capture interested viewers. Learn the basics of TikTok SEO, and you’ll be well on your way to success on the platform.

Buying followers is a tempting option, especially when you don’t see any growth in your follower numbers for weeks or months. You can inflate your numbers to make your profile look more impressive. But make sure you have quality videos to back it up, and that will convert profile visitors into instant fans.

Can you get banned for buying followers on TikTok? The answer is “No,” but other risks could lead to an account ban if you’re not careful. If you need help growing your TikTok, subscribe to a High Social plan instead. 

Get expert help from TikTok specialists and leverage High Social’s advanced, proprietary AI technology. Deliver your videos to more users who are genuinely interested and likely to become lifelong fans. Start growing your TikTok today!

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Can You Get Banned for Buying Followers on TikTok? And Other Questions

You may not see a ban directly for buying TikTok followers, but this tactic can harm your account in other ways. TikTok’s algorithm can detect suspicious activity, reducing your content’s visibility and reach. Additionally, fake followers won’t engage with your content, lowering your engagement rate and affecting potential partnerships with brands. Let’s dive into more questions about buying TikTok followers and the risks involved.

Is Buying Followers Illegal on TikTok?

Buying followers on TikTok isn’t illegal, but it does violate TikTok’s Community Guidelines. TikTok discourages artificially inflating followers and engagement because it misleads other users. While you might not face legal consequences, TikTok can detect and remove fake followers. This can hurt your account’s visibility and decrease your engagement levels.

Can You Achieve Real Growth When You Buy Followers?

You can only achieve real growth on TikTok with real, genuinely interested followers. Real fans enjoying your content are crucial to keeping your account alive. When you have followers who like and comment on your videos, your high engagement tells TikTok that your content is relevant. Their engagement gives you social proof. TikTok will find more audiences who may also find your videos enjoyable, and you’ll continue to gain followers.

Buying followers can only help you make a good first impression. However, if your content offers value, you can turn profile visitors into genuine followers.

Is There a Risk to Your Account Security When You Buy Followers?

There’s always a risk to your account security when buying TikTok followers from third-party sites. These sites may require access to your account information, which can lead to security breaches. You may receive spam from bots, or hackers might attempt to access your account.

Always do thorough research before making any purchases, and read reviews from trusted platforms to ensure the site is secure. Is it safe to buy TikTok followers? Not entirely, especially since you can’t control the quality of followers you receive. If you notice suspicious accounts, remove them immediately to protect your account.

There’s no way to check what kinds of followers you’ll get when purchasing. You may be able to check out the profiles of your bought followers only after delivery. If you see anything suspicious, your best option is to remove fake accounts from your follower list immediately.

Does Buying Followers Offer Real Benefits?

Buying followers may offer some short-term benefits, but you need a solid strategy to make it work. The main idea behind buying followers is to boost your numbers, creating an impression of popularity. People tend to judge a profile by its follower count, which can influence their decision to follow you. 

However, visitors often browse your content first, so having engaging and valuable videos is crucial. To see real benefits, you should focus on steady, realistic growth rather than adding hundreds of followers at once. Gradual increases in followers will look more natural and help maintain authenticity.

TikTok Tips