TikTok's Nearby feed, called the Local feed in the US, shows public posts to people located in, or browsing, the area where a post was made or the place it tags. TikTok's Nearby announcement says posts stay out when the creator is under 18, the account is private or the post is set to Friends or Only you, and that posts older than 90 days are not eligible either. Turning off precise location stops TikTok collecting GPS data, but TikTok does not list location permissions among the things that keep a post out, because it still estimates an approximate location and records any place you tag.
This guide looks at the feed from the creator's side: where it runs, how a post gets in and which settings keep it out. How relatives and contacts find an account through contact syncing and suggested accounts is covered in our guide to keeping a promotion account away from people you know, and our anonymous creator privacy guide covers wider exposure checks across platforms.
Where the feed runs and what it is called
| Region | Name in the app | What TikTok announced | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy | Nearby, with the tab named after the place you are near | Rollout announced on 4 December 2025, starting in those four countries | Nearby announcement |
| United States | Local | Announced on 11 February 2026 by TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, with precise location introduced gradually | Local Feed announcement |
| The UK and Europe more broadly | Nearby | A February 2026 Privacy Center post describes Nearby as launched in the UK and Europe | How location works on TikTok |
| Everywhere else | Not covered by these announcements | Content may be visible to people globally even where a feature is not offered in your own region | Post privacy settings |
The last row matters if you live somewhere without the feed. A creator based in Australia who posts publicly while visiting London is posting from a city where Nearby runs, and TikTok's description of the feed suggests that post can be offered to people there. Note too that the Nearby announcement includes the cut-off for posts older than 90 days, while the US Local Feed announcement does not mention any age limit.
How a post ends up in someone's Nearby feed
Both announcements say posts are shown based on location, the topic of the content and when it was posted, and the Nearby announcement adds that people see local content about travel, events, food and drink and other services based on their interests. For creators, the Nearby announcement spells out the consequence: public posts may be available to people located in the city or region where they were posted, or where they tagged a location or service. Viewers can also change the place they browse by tapping the location name, so the audience is not limited to people physically nearby.
The Privacy Center post separates two kinds of location. Approximate location is your city or region, estimated from things like your IP address and device settings. Precise location comes from GPS, is off by default, is opt-in, is only offered to users aged 18 and over, and is only used while the app is open, with a visible indicator on your phone when it is accessed. TikTok's location information page puts sizes on them: approximate location typically covers an area of 3 to 10 square kilometres, precise location 10 to 100 square metres. With Location Services switched off, the same page says TikTok keeps estimating approximate location from your SIM region, IP address and device settings, and still collects the location you add to a post.
For most creators, then, the feed places an untagged post in an area rather than at an address. The location tag is the precise part, and it is the one you choose.
Setting-by-setting table
| Setting | Effect on Nearby or Local | Where to find it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private account | Keeps every post out of the feed | Your privacy settings | Nearby and Local announcements |
| Post set to Friends or Only you | Keeps that one post out | The Post screen, or More options and then Privacy settings on a published post | Post privacy settings page |
| Location tag | Links a public post to a named place, so people there or browsing there may see it | Location on the Post screen | Location information page |
| Suggested places | Drawn from popularity, your current or past proximity and the text, images and hashtags in the post | The row of places below Location | Location information page |
| Location Services off | Stops precise collection; approximate location is still estimated and is not listed as an exclusion | Settings and privacy, then Privacy, then Location Services, plus your phone's settings | Location information page; Privacy Center post |
| Delete certain location data | Deletes data TikTok received from Location Services, though less specific inferred location such as your city may be kept | Privacy, then Location Services | Location information page |
| Post age | In the Nearby rollout, posts older than 90 days are not eligible | Nothing to set | Nearby announcement |
| Audience controls | Hides a post from under-18 users, but TikTok does not describe it as a Nearby exclusion | The post's settings when you publish | Post privacy settings page |
The location page also says some places cannot be tagged at all, because TikTok has not made them available yet or has restricted them to protect people's safety. That protection is TikTok's choice, not a setting you control, so do not rely on it.
Worked examples: what happens to a post
These scenarios apply the rules above to situations creators run into. They describe what TikTok's published rules allow, not a prediction of who will see a given post.
| Situation | What the rules allow | Lower-exposure option |
|---|---|---|
| A public video filmed and posted at home in Manchester, with no tag | It can be offered to people in or browsing the city or region where it was posted, though approximate location does not pin it to the house | Post once you are away from home, or set the video to Friends |
| Weekly videos tagged at the same local cafe | Each tag links the post to that venue, and the pattern shows viewers when you are usually there | Tag the city instead, or tag a venue only after a one-off visit |
| A holiday clip posted publicly from a hotel in Paris | France is part of the Nearby rollout, so people there or browsing there may see it while you are still in town | Hold the post until you have checked out, or leave the hotel untagged |
| The same clip posted from a private account | Private accounts are excluded from the feed entirely | Nothing more needed for the feed itself |
| A public post from home made four months ago, in the UK | Under the Nearby rules, posts older than 90 days are no longer eligible | Review newer posts first, since those are the ones still in the pool |
| A public post with the audience control set to adults only | It is hidden from under-18 users under the post privacy rules, but TikTok does not list this among the feed exclusions | Use Friends or Only you when location is the worry |
Using the feed on purpose without oversharing
Some creators want local reach. A food reviewer, a band announcing gigs or a creator who runs events can use the same rules in their favour. The Nearby announcement says the feed features content about travel, events, food and drink and local services, so public venues and events are the natural things to tag. Keep the tags on places you choose to be associated with, and keep your own address, street and regular routine out of the picture.
A few habits separate deliberate local content from accidental exposure: tag the venue or event rather than the neighbourhood you live in, post after the event rather than during it, and consider running local work from a separate public account while keeping a personal account private. If you also promote a subscription page, those boundaries matter more, and our guide to promotion accounts and discoverability settings covers the account-level choices.
Location-exposure checklist before you post
Run through this for any post filmed somewhere you go regularly, especially home, a workplace or a child's school:
- Post privacy: does this video need to be public? Friends or Only you keeps it out of the feed entirely.
- Timing: the feed works from where you posted, so publishing after you have left a place gives away less than posting while you are there.
- The tag: TikTok may prompt you to add a location when you post without one. Tag a city or a venue you are happy to be linked to, or skip it.
- The suggestions: if the suggested places include somewhere you visit often, that tells you what TikTok has inferred, and choosing one confirms it publicly.
- The caption and hashtags: suburb names, street names and venue hashtags also feed the place suggestions, and they tell viewers where you are even without a tag.
- The frame: street signs, house numbers, number plates, uniforms and the view from a window can place you more exactly than any tag. TikTok's privacy rules treat personal information that could lead to stalking as harmful even when you post it yourself.
- The phone: check TikTok's location permission in your device settings; on iPhone, the Nearby announcement notes a visible indicator appears when location is being accessed.
- The back catalogue: review recent public posts filmed at home, since the US announcement gives no age cut-off for the Local feed.
Your profile can give away the same information as a tag. Our TikTok bio guide covers keeping location out of the bio, and if someone gains access to the account, our hacked account recovery guide shows how to remove unknown devices and apps.
When privacy settings are not enough
Settings reduce exposure, but they cannot undo what viewers have already seen or saved. If someone uses your location to turn up, follow or threaten you, save the evidence and contact the police. In Australia, the eSafety Commissioner's evidence guide explains what to record before content or accounts disappear. Creators who film at home or work anonymously should treat location settings as one layer among several, alongside separate accounts, careful framing and a profile that names no neighbourhood.
Limitations of this guide
This guide relies on TikTok's Nearby and Local Feed announcements, its Privacy Center post on location and its Help Center pages on location and post privacy, as they read on 1 October 2026. TikTok does not publish the radius of the feed or how heavily it weighs location against topic and recency, availability changes as the feature reaches new countries, and setting names differ between regions and app versions. In the US, the Local feed is run by the separate TikTok USDS Joint Venture under its own terms. This is general safety information, not legal advice; if you are at risk, contact the police or a qualified support service.