How to Turn On Comments on TikTok

Comments are the heartbeat of your TikTok account, turning passive viewers into an active community. If your comment section is silent because the feature is turned off, you're missing out on vital engagement that fuels reach and builds your brand. This guide will walk you through exactly how to turn on comments, manage them for individual videos, and use filtering tools to create a positive and interactive space for your followers.

Beyond the Vanity Metrics: Why Comments Are Your Most Valuable Currency

On TikTok, not all engagement is created equal. While likes are a quick nod of approval, comments are a far stronger signal to the algorithm. They represent a viewer taking the time to stop, think, and interact with your content. This tells TikTok that your video isn't just entertaining, it's thought-provoking and community-building, making it more likely to be pushed out to a wider audience on the For You Page.

But the benefits go way beyond pleasing the algorithm. The comment section is where the real magic happens:

• Community Building: It’s your digital town square. An active comment section fosters a sense of belonging, creating a space where inside jokes are born, followers connect with each other, and you build a loyal base of true fans, not just fly-by viewers.
• Priceless Feedback: Your audience will tell you exactly what they want to see next, what they loved about your video, and what questions they have. This direct feedback is a goldmine for content ideation, helping you create more of what works and less of what doesn't.
• Social Proof: A video with hundreds of engaging comments feels like a party everyone wants to join. This social proof encourages new viewers to watch your video to the end, follow your account, and join the conversation themselves.

Ultimately, a disabled comment section is like throwing a party and locking the front door. You might have a good time by yourself, but you miss the entire point - connection. Let's get that door open.

The Master Switch: How to Turn Comments On for All Your Videos

The quickest way to enable comments across your entire account is by using TikTok’s main privacy settings. This "master switch" will set the default for all future videos you post. If this is turned off, you might find yourself unable to enable comments on individual videos.

Here’s how to find it and set your account-wide permissions:

1. Go to Your Profile: Open TikTok and tap on the Profile icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
2. Access the Menu: Tap the three horizontal lines (the hamburger menu) in the top-right corner.
3. Find Settings: From the menu that pops up, select "Settings and privacy."
4. Open Privacy Settings: On the next screen, tap the "Privacy" option.
5. Navigate to Comments: Scroll down to the "Interactions" section and tap on "Comments."
6. Choose Your Audience: This is the most important step. You'll see several options under "Who can comment on your videos." To turn comments on, you need to select one of these:
   • Everyone: This is the recommended setting for most creators and brands looking for maximum growth and engagement. It allows anyone on TikTok, whether they follow you or not, to leave a comment.
   • Followers that you follow back: This is a more restrictive option, ideal for personal accounts. Only mutuals - people you follow who also follow you - can comment on your videos.
   • Nobody: This setting turns off comments completely for all videos on your account. If your comments are disabled, your settings are likely on this option.

By selecting "Everyone," you're setting your account up for potential growth by allowing anyone to jump into the conversation. Now, let's look at how to manage comments for specific videos.

Going Granular: Managing Comments for a Single Video

Sometimes you need more surgical control. You might want comments open for most of your content but need to shut them down on a specific video that's attracting negative attention or covering a sensitive topic. TikTok gives you the ability to override your global settings on a per-video basis, either before you post or after it's already live.

Adjusting Comment Settings Before You Post

While you're in the creative flow, it’s easy to manage your comment settings right from the final posting screen. This is the best time to decide how you want to handle interaction for that specific video.

Here are the steps:

1. Create your video as you normally would, adding sounds, effects, and text.
2. On the final Post screen (where you write your caption and add hashtags), look for the option "Allow comments." It's usually visible with a simple toggle switch next to it.
3. Tap the toggle to turn comments ON (green) or OFF (grey).
4. Once you're happy with your settings, hit Post.

Turning the toggle off on this screen will disable comments for this one video, even if your account-wide setting is "Everyone." It provides a handy one-time override.

Changing Comment Settings on a Video You've Already Posted

Did you forget to disable comments on a video or, conversely, post a video and later realize you want to invite discussion? No problem. You can change the setting retroactively.

1. Go to Your Profile and find the video you want to adjust.
2. Tap on the video to open it in full-screen view.
3. Tap the three dots (...) on the right-hand side of the screen to open the options menu.
4. In the bottom row of icons, swipe to the left to find the "Privacy settings" option (it usually has a lock icon). Tap it.
5. You'll see a toggle for "Allow comments." Tap it to turn comments on or off for that video.

This simple process lets you stay in control of the conversation long after a video has gone live, which is perfect for managing your community effectively as a video grows in views.

Building a Stronger Community: Mastering Comment Moderation Tools

Turning on comments is only half the battle. Creating a space where people want to comment requires proactive moderation. TikTok provides a suite of excellent filtering tools to help you keep your comment section positive, relevant, and free of spam. Using them effectively is just as important as turning comments on in the first place.

You can find all of these tools in the same place as the global comment settings: Profile > Menu > Settings and privacy > Privacy > Comments.

Filter Spam and Offensive Comments

This is your first line of defense. By turning this feature on, you let TikTok’s system automatically hide comments that it identifies as spam, or as potentially offensive or abusive. This is a non-negotiable for any creator or brand - it’s a simple toggle that immediately improves the quality of your comment section with zero extra effort.

Filter by Keywords

This is where you get to customize your protection. The keyword filter allows you to create a list of words or phrases you want to automatically hide. If a comment contains one of your keywords, it won’t appear publicly unless you manually approve it.

This is incredibly useful for:

• Filtering competitor mentions: Prevent people from promoting other accounts in your comments.
• Hiding common spam phrases: Block comments like "check my profile" or "link in my bio."
• Blocking sensitive topics: If you don't want particular political or controversial terms appearing, you can add them to your list.
• Protecting your brand: Filter out curse words or negative phrasing related to your services or products.

Filter All Comments

For maximum control, you can enable the "Filter All Comments" option. When this is active, no new comments will appear on your videos until you manually review and approve them. This is the 'nuclear option' and can be labor-intensive, but it’s invaluable for sensitive content, videos that are magnets for controversy, or during a brand crisis. It gives you 100% control over the public conversation taking place on your content.

Troubleshooting: Why Can't I Turn On My Comments?

If you’ve gone through the steps above and your comment settings are still greyed out or not working as expected, there might be a few other factors at play.

• Your Account is Private: Private accounts on TikTok can only be seen by approved followers. Engagement settings are naturally more restricted. If your account is private, you can only allow your followers to comment, the "Everyone" option will be unavailable. To open comments to everyone, you’ll first need to switch to a Public Account.
• Age Restrictions: TikTok has strict safety policies for its younger users. Accounts registered to users between the ages of 13 and 15 have their comment settings automatically set to "Friends" or "No one," and the "Everyone" option cannot be chosen. This is a non-negotiable safety feature.
• A Temporary Glitch: Technology isn't perfect. If you’re sure your settings are correct but comments aren't appearing, try some basic troubleshooting. Close and restart the app, clear your app cache (you can do this in TikTok's settings), or make sure your app is updated to the latest version.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to turn on comments is simple, but leveraging them effectively is a real skill. By combining open comment settings with smart, proactive moderation, you can build a thriving community that not only fuels your growth on the platform but also provides you with invaluable insights into what your audience wants.

Once those comments start rolling in, staying on top of the conversation becomes the next big challenge, especially when you're managing multiple social platforms. That's why we built our unified inbox in Postbase. We wanted a single place to see and reply to comments from TikTok, Instagram, and more without having to jump between five different apps. It makes community management feel organized and intentional, helping you build real relationships with your audience instead of just fighting to keep up with notifications.