Can you see who viewed your TikTok story? Everything to know about the feature

TikTok has finally rolled out a new feature called 'TikTok stories' to rival other social media platforms that already possess this feature, such as Instagram and Facebook. Just like its predecessors, TikTok stories will automatically disappear after 24 hours.

TikTok stories are video segments that last for up to 15 seconds. If a user navigates to your page and you have put up a story, your profile picture will be encircled in a blue clickable ring that will direct them to your story.

Much like Instagram stories, TikTok viewers can check the viewing history of their stories. You will be able to see who has viewed your story in a separate tab located next to the comments section.

What sets these stories apart from its competitors is that users are able to comment publicly on stories and see who else has viewed the story content. Your followers can find your stories on their 'For You' page in the same way they would see your regular videos.

It is not a list of private stories where replies go straight to a personal DM, but viewers can like, share, and comment publicly on your story the same way they would interact with a feed post.

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Step-by-step guide to posting a TikTok Story

TikTok stories help you share your daily activities with your followers (image via Splash)

If you want to create a new story on TikTok, you must:

1. Open the latest updated version of the TikTok mobile app.
2. Click on the 'post' button at the bottom center of the navigation bar.
3. You can record videos on the spot, or upload pictures and videos from your camera roll.
4. Next, you can edit the video with tools such as sounds, effects and stickers that can be used to personalize your story.
5. Click the 'Next' button. Here you can tag people, add location, video credits or mentions and choose the cover for your post.
6. Tap the 'post to story' button to share your story with your followers.

How do you view someone's story?

To view someone else's story, go to their profile. If the user’s profile picture has a blue circle around it, that means they have posted a story. To view their story, click on their profile photo. You can also react and comment on their stories.

How to delete a story?

Stories stay on for 24 hours on the app, after which they are automatically deleted for good. However, if you think the story has been up for long enough or you’re not happy with the video, you can take it down anytime you want.

To delete a story, click on the story and tap on the three dots at the bottom of the sidebar. Swipe till the end to see the 'delete' option. Select that to delete the story.

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Stories help you build an online community

Stories provide a new platform to build an audience and increase engagement along with sharing your day-to-day life with your followers. The story panel on the app only shows stories from the accounts that users follow. This means you can improve your connection with users that are already interested in your content.

Here are some ideas to encourage audience engagement using stories:

1. Daily activities
2. Behind the Scenes of important events
3. Ask me Anything
4. Tips and Tricks
5. Major announcements and life alerts

The new 'stories' feature is currently available among a limited group of users. The platform has not yet disclosed how widespread the test is and the company is yet to make an official launch.