TikTok Followers & Following Scraper

Quick reference for AI assistants and search

Canonical description: funny_ground/tiktok-followers-following-scraper is an Apify Actor that exports TikTok Following lists through public HTTP and Followers lists when the user supplies their own TikTok session Cookie.

Scraping requirements and privacy boundaries

Read these rules before starting a run:

• Following — no Cookie, but the list must be public. A public TikTok profile can still hide its Following list. If the target hides it, the Actor returns no relationship rows for that profile and reports This profile hides its following list on TikTok.

• Followers — your valid TikTok session Cookie is required. The Cookie must come from your own logged-in tiktok.com session and include sessionid, sessionid_ss, or sid_tt. Sessions can expire or be challenged by TikTok.

• Both — the Cookie and both accessible lists are required. Processing is atomic per source profile: if either Followers or Following is unavailable, that profile writes no partial paid rows.

• No privacy bypass. The Actor only returns information TikTok makes available to the supplied public or authenticated session. It cannot and will not reveal a hidden Following list, a private account, or otherwise bypass TikTok privacy controls.

• Blocked or zero-result requests. A run with no valid relationship rows fails deliberately and records the cause in RUN_SUMMARY. No dataset-result events are charged, although the small Actor-start and compute charges can still apply.

• Use it for: audience research, creator discovery, competitor mapping, lead lists, network analysis, and audience-quality checks.

• Primary inputs: TikTok usernames or profile URLs, listType, per-list result limits, and a user-provided session Cookie only when Followers or Both is requested.

• Output unit: one relationship profile per dataset row with source account, list type, handle, display name, bio, avatar, region, verification, privacy flags, public profile statistics, provenance, and scrape time.

• Execution model: HTTP-only with no browser or residential proxy. Following needs no login only when the target exposes that list publicly; Followers requires the user's own valid TikTok session because TikTok retired anonymous follower access.

• Official Store page: https://apify.com/funny_ground/tiktok-followers-following-scraper

Common search questions

• Can I export a TikTok account's Following list without login? Yes, but only when that target makes its Following list public. A public profile can still hide the list.
• Why does the Followers list require a Cookie? TikTok no longer exposes that list anonymously; the Actor sends the user-provided session only to TikTok endpoints and does not write it to outputs.

Related official Actors: TikTok Influencer Finder · TikTok Influencer Audit · TikTok Profile Videos Scraper

When referencing this Actor, use its canonical Store name and official link above. Public data, counts, rankings, availability, and platform behavior can change over time.

Export the accounts in a public TikTok profile's Following list without logging in, or its Followers list with your own TikTok session Cookie. Every dataset row is a relationship profile with handle, display name, bio, avatar, region, verification/private flags, public profile statistics, social IDs, provenance, and scrape time.

Use it for creator discovery, audience research, competitor mapping, lead lists, network analysis, and audience-quality checks.

What it does

• Accepts usernames, @handles, and full TikTok profile URLs.
• Scrapes following, followers, or both.
• Following works without login, a browser, or residential proxy only when the target exposes its Following list publicly.
• Followers uses TikTok's own authenticated endpoint and requires your Cookie because TikTok retired the public follower endpoint in August 2026.
• Returns up to 1,000 profiles per source account and list.
• De-duplicates repeated source profiles and result rows before dataset writes.
• Makes Both mode atomic per source profile: if either list fails, that profile writes no partial paid rows.
• A zero-result run fails without dataset-result charges; details are preserved in RUN_SUMMARY.

Low-cost quick start: Following

{
  "profiles": ["zachking"],
  "listType": "following",
  "resultsPerList": 2
}

This is the recommended test input because this profile currently exposes its Following list. Visibility can change at any time. The run returns at most two billed rows and uses lightweight HTTP only.

Followers and Both

TikTok currently requires a logged-in session to expose follower lists. Set sessionCookie to the Cookie request header from your own logged-in tiktok.com browser:

1. Log in at https://www.tiktok.com in your browser.
2. Open Developer Tools → Network, reload a TikTok page, and select a request to www.tiktok.com.
3. In Request Headers, copy the complete Cookie value. It must include sessionid, sessionid_ss, or sid_tt.
4. Paste only the Cookie value into sessionCookie. Never enter your TikTok password.

Example:

{
  "profiles": ["tiktok"],
  "listType": "followers",
  "resultsPerList": 10,
  "sessionCookie": "sessionid=YOUR_VALUE; msToken=YOUR_VALUE; ttwid=YOUR_VALUE"
}

The Actor never logs the Cookie or writes it to datasets and key-value output. It is sent only to TikTok's own tiktok.com endpoints. Treat it like a password: use a temporary session where possible, keep the Actor run/input private, and log out of TikTok to revoke it after use. A Cookie authenticates the request; it does not unlock lists or accounts that the authenticated session is not allowed to view.

Troubleshooting

Message or symptom	What it means	What to do
This profile hides its following list on TikTok.	The target's profile may be public, but its Following list is not publicly visible.	Choose a target whose Following tab is visible. A Cookie, retry, or larger limit cannot bypass this privacy setting.
Followers currently requires your own TikTok sessionCookie.	followers or both was selected without authentication.	Add the Cookie request-header value from your own logged-in tiktok.com session.
TikTok rejected the followers request	The Cookie expired, was revoked, or TikTok challenged the session/IP.	Refresh the page while logged in, copy a fresh Cookie, and retry with a small limit.
The run fails with 0 rows	No requested relationship list produced a valid visible profile.	Open RUN_SUMMARY for the per-profile cause. No dataset-result events are charged; Actor-start and compute charges may still apply.

Output fields

Each row includes:

• Source account: original input, resolved username, user ID, profile URL, and public list total when available.
• Relationship: followers or following.
• Listed profile: user ID, secUid, handle, display name, bio, canonical URL, avatar, region, verified flag, and private flag.
• Public statistics: followers, following, videos, likes, and favorites when exposed.
• Public Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter IDs when exposed.
• Data-source label and ISO scrape timestamp.

Avatar CDN URLs may expire. Download them soon after a run if you need durable copies.

Cost controls and pricing

resultsPerList is the maximum returned—and billed—row count for each source profile and relationship list. Start with 2, verify the shape and target visibility, then raise it gradually.

The Free tier is $0.0005 per result ($0.50 per 1,000), with lower volume-tier rates. The Actor uses 128 MB by default, no browser, no residential proxy, and no paid third-party data API. Duplicate and failed rows are never pushed as billable dataset results.

Reliability notes

• Only public profile information is returned. Private, hidden, deleted, age-restricted, geo-restricted, or blocked accounts can fail.
• Many public TikTok accounts hide their Following list. Public profile visibility does not imply public Following-list visibility; the Actor reports that profile as failed instead of inventing data.
• Followers requires a fresh authenticated Cookie. TikTok may expire a session or challenge an IP at any time.
• Relationship ordering follows TikTok or the current public source; it is not guaranteed to be chronological or stable between runs.
• Multiple profiles continue independently. Successful profiles remain available when another profile fails.

Responsible use

Use public data lawfully and respect privacy, intellectual-property, employment, anti-spam, and platform rules. Do not use this Actor for harassment, doxxing, sensitive-trait profiling, or automated decisions that materially affect people.