How to Mute All TikTok Videos and Only Unmute the Ones You Want to Watch

At the time of writing this article, TikTok does not officially offer a built-in setting that you can use to automatically start every video on mute. However, you can still achieve this effect by adjusting a few phone settings.

The steps below explain the simplest and most reliable methods.

Use Your Phone’s Media Volume to Keep TikTok Permanently Muted

TikTok follows your device’s media volume, not your ringtone or alarm settings.

This means that if your media volume is set to zero, every TikTok video will start silently.

In other to achieve this;

• Open TikTok or stay on your home screen.
• Press the Volume Down button.
• Tap the sound settings icon that appears on the screen.
• Slide the Media Volume all the way to zero.

With this set, TikTok videos will always start muted.

When you want to hear a specific video, simply press Volume Up while watching it.

Use Your Phone’s Silent or Vibrate Mode (iPhone Only)

If you are using an iPhone, placing your phone in Silent Mode also mutes TikTok by default.

To achieve this;

• On older iPhones: flip the silent switch on the left side of the phone.
• On newer iPhones (without a switch):
  
  1. Pull down from the top-right to open Control Center.
  2. Tap the Silent Mode button to enable it.

TikTok videos will now start quietly, and you can tap Volume Up when you want to listen.

Disable Auto-Play to Control When Videos Start (Optional)

Turning off auto-play does not completely mute sound, but it prevents videos from playing automatically. You choose when a video starts, and you can unmute it if needed.

To achieve this;

• Open TikTok.
• Go to your Profile.
• Tap the Menu (☰).
• Select Settings & privacy.
• Tap Playback.
• Go to Open TikTok on Mute.
• Choose Off.

Now TikTok will not automatically play or blast sound until you press play.