Wait, Why Isn't TikTok Letting Me Switch My Accounts? Inside the Error Message

Nothing tells you that you are chronically online quite like noticing right away that you can't switch between your TikTok accounts and then losing sleep over it. Though to be fair, some people make a living from TikTok, and having a second or third account is a literal necessity, so we can't exactly fault them there.

And if you're one of many who are wondering why TikTok isn't letting you switch accounts to toggle between your profiles, you aren't alone. When some users began sharing videos on TikTok asking why it's happening and what's going on with TikTok, others commented to share that they too were faced with this issue. It seems to be one that pops up from time to time and isn't isolated to one type or user, with very little rhyme or reason.

On a Reddit thread about not being able to switch TikTok accounts, users reported being unable to switch back from their business or side account to their main TikTok profile. One person said they had to uninstall and reinstall the app to be able to do it again. After the United States ban that temporarily had everyone in a tizzy in early 2025, it's safe to say that no one wants to risk uninstalling the app out of fear they won't be able to get it back again.

While there doesn't seem to be an actual reason behind being unable to switch accounts, the likely reason is a simple bug in TikTok. If so many users are reporting the same issues, it's a problem across the board and one that users will have to be patient with as TikTok fixes the issue and everyone can resume business as usual.

Unfortunately for some users, they were left on their TikTok account which isn't their main account. So they still had access to the app but under a different account with a different algorithm and different experience altogether. Other users on X (formerly Twitter) made posts reporting that the app was down as a whole. But, for the most part, it looks like there was a technical issue with being able to switch between multiple accounts.

Luckily, the issue users have isn't that they aren't allowed to have multiple TikTok accounts. According to Medium, as of 2024, you could have three TikTok accounts on one device. For more accounts, you have to use different devices, and you can't log in to TikTok on another device with that information.

The TikTok Support section about phone numbers and email addresses says that your phone number and email address can each only be associated with one account. For multiple accounts, you have to use different email addresses and numbers.

Of course even if you follow all the rules, you always run the risk of being the victim of a TikTok tech issue, which in this case is what happens when users with multiple accounts can't switch between them.