TikTok has become insanely popular during the pandemic. According to Cloudflare, TikTok was the app with the most downloads in 2021, an impressive achievement for a platform that came into popularity so recently. The app is a video-focused social network that originated in China in 2016. Back then, the project was known by the name Douyin. During its first year of launch, TikTok reached an outstanding 100 million users and more than one billion videos viewed every day.

After that success, going international was a must for the app. In 2017, the platform was launched as TikTok in some parts of the world. When the company that owned the app had to merge with Musical.ly, another social network, it achieved a complete global reach.

It’s worth noting that Douyin and TikTok are actually different apps with similar features and user interfaces, the first being available only for China and the latter for the rest of the world. TikTok has now surpassed the 2 billion downloads worldwide and by 2018, celebrities began using the platform, giving it an unprecedented boost in its user base. Nowadays, almost every celebrity and influencer out there has a TikTok account.

The content of this app is very varied, although it’s limited to videos of 15 seconds to 3 minutes. On the mobile app, creators can make short videos using music that can be sped up or slowed down, add voiceovers, texts and filters. It has various features that include the like, comment and share options, and it also has the “Small Gesture” feature that facilitates the advertising process for influencers and popular accounts. TikTok also offers the tip button for those with over 100,000 followers (that choose to have it) that allows followers of the account to make tips to the creator starting in $1. TikTok’s short-form content became so widespread that other platforms like YouTube and Instagram created their own versions of it.

TikTok became so popular due to the content variety, it started as dance and lip-sync videos and then it branched to all kinds of categories. You can find almost anything in there! From slime to dance videos, edit, lyrics, reaction, design videos; the possibilities are infinite, and if you don’t find anything you like, you can create your own videos!

However, not everything is as good as it seems. As with any other social media, TikTok can lead to effects similar to those caused by addiction. Because of this both Douyin and TikTok implemented an addiction-reduction feature that encourages users to take breaks after 90 minutes on the app. Another concern users have is the effects on attention span; some studies show that watching 15-seconds videos repeatedly can cause a decrease of attention span because of the cognitive cost of changing your subject of focus. These effects are more amplified in children and younger audiences.

TikTok is involved in other controversies regarding content. Some countries and cultures view some videos of the platform as vulgar, obscene, and encouraging of pornography and sexualization. The app has faced backlash for allowing extremist political content, racism, and xenophobia. Because of this, TikTok improved its parental controls to filter out this type of content.

However, the biggest concern for users is due to security and privacy issues. On its privacy policy, the app states various sections that might worry some people that care about their privacy. On the list, it says that the app collects usage information, IP addresses, location data, keystroke patterns and other identifiers. The content shared on the app through an outdated HTTP protocol also puts the user’s privacy at risk, according to specialists.

It’s highly reasonable that TikTok would face a decrease of users due to these privacy concerns. But the good news is that you can still enjoy the app without risking your private data. How? you might ask. Well, the answer is to use virtual numbers. With these, you can bypass the TikTok SMS verification system and have a fully functional account without compromising your real phone number. In this guide, we’ll tell you how you can do it using a US number.

Step 1: download TikTok

Go to your app store in Android or iOS and type “TikTok” on the search bar, download the first option you see. Make sure you’re downloading the verified app.

Now, open the app once installed on your mobile, and agree to the terms and conditions of use.

Choose your interests to get video recommendations better suited to you, then click on “Next”. After that, you’ll see a mini tutorial telling you how to use the main feature of the app. Click on “Start Watching”.

Go to your profile and click on “Sign Up”.

Step 2: register

You’ll see a window that offers you various registration methods. Select “Use phone or email”.

Enter your birthday and click on “Next”.

Now, you’ll need to enter a phone number. To do this, you’ll need a virtual number.

Step 3: getting a temporary number

To get your new number, you’ll have to go to our website and sign in, if you don’t have an account, sign up. You can find both of these options on our top menu.

Now, make sure the top tab says “United States”. Click on the “Services” tab and then on “Short-term numbers”.

Type “TikTok” on the search bar and click on the blue “Purchase” button.

Mark the checkbox to confirm your purchase and verify you’re buying the right number. After that, click on “Next”.

Now you are all set up! Just type the displayed number on TikTok and hit “Send Code”.

Click on “Next” on our website to get your code.

Step 4: verify your account

After you get the code, type it on the TikTok page.

Step 5: set up your account

Create your password and your username. After that, just click on “Sign Up”.

And you’re done!

Congratulations! Now you have a fully functional TikTok account, and you did it without giving away your phone number and compromising an important part of your privacy.

Go ahead and start using our Non VoIP numbers and enjoy to the fullest this app and all it has to offer. Sign up now!