How to moderate TikTok comments on a business account

You filter TikTok comments on a business account in the TikTok app, under Settings and privacy, then Privacy, then Comments. Four filters live there: Filter all comments, Filter unwanted comments, Creator Care Mode and Filter keywords, and each one holds comments until you approve or delete them. For answering the comments that get through, a tool like BetterSocials puts TikTok comments and DMs in one inbox with replies drafted in your voice, and Agorapulse suits a team that wants moderation rules across many profiles.

TikTok's comment rules, counted for a business account

TikTok spreads its comment rules across the app's Help Center, its Ads Manager help and its developer docs. We took the rules explainer angle, so this piece counts the limits, the windows and the labels in one place. We read every page quoted here on October 16, 2026.

TikTok's help and developer pages, read October 16, 2026, give these counts.

A filter here means a setting that holds a comment out of sight until you approve it. A held comment isn't deleted. It waits under Review filtered comments for your decision.

Filtering and moderating comments on a TikTok business account, step by step

TikTok Studio's creator tools work for both Personal and Business Accounts, and every filter procedure on TikTok's Help Center starts "In the TikTok app". TikTok Studio on the web can "Delete, like, dislike, and reply to comments", and its comments section "doesn't include community-flagged or blocked comments". So you set the filters on your phone and handle the day's replies wherever you like.

A routine for a business account runs in five steps.

1. 1Open the TikTok app, tap Profile, tap the menu, then Settings and privacy, then Privacy, then Comments.
2. 2Under Comment filters, turn on Filter unwanted comments. TikTok says "recent comments that may be offensive or spam will be hidden unless you approve them."
3. 3Tap Filter keywords in comments, turn on Filter specific keywords, and tap Add keywords. Add your competitors' handles, scam phrases and any word you don't want under your videos.
4. 4Once a day, tap Review filtered comments, then tap Approve or Delete under each one.
5. 5Clear what's left with Manage multiple comments, which deletes up to 100 at a time or blocks the accounts behind them.

The toggle's name has changed. The step heading on TikTok's page still reads "To filter spam and offensive comments", while the switch itself says Filter unwanted comments, so look for either label.

If more than one person answers your messages, TikTok's Business Center handles access. "After integrating your Business Account with Business Center, you can grant users permissions to manage direct messages." That integration needs a Verified Business Account.

Hiding comments on TikTok: four filters and the per-video switch

TikTok hides comments in two ways: filters that hold comments for review, and switches that stop comments from appearing at all. The four filters sit together under Comment filters.

• Filter all comments hides every comment "unless you approve them". TikTok adds that "This feature isn't currently available to everyone", so your account may not show it.
• Filter unwanted comments holds recent comments that may be spam or offensive.
• Creator Care Mode hides comments "that are inappropriate, offensive, or contain profanity, as well as comments that were previously reported, deleted, or disliked".
• Filter keywords hides comments that contain the words you add.

The switches work at two levels. Account-wide, tap Privacy, then Comments, then Allow comments from, and pick Everyone (public accounts), Followers (private accounts) or Friends, meaning followers you follow back.

Per video, you choose before or after posting. On the Post screen, tap More options and turn Allow comments off. On a video already live, tap More options, then Privacy settings, then turn Allow comments off.

A business account usually wants Everyone, because buyers who don't follow you yet are the ones asking about price. Filters let you keep that door open and still catch the spam.

The keyword filter limit, and the 500 figure that belongs to LIVE

TikTok's help page for video comments gives no maximum for Filter keywords. The 500-keyword figure comes from TikTok's LIVE comments page: "Add up to 500 keywords or phrases that you want to block and hide from your LIVE chat. Each keyword can include up to 30 characters."

Some third-party blogs apply that 500 cap to video comments. TikTok's own pages scope it to LIVE chat, so treat the video keyword list as open-ended and check Review filtered comments to see what it catches.

An older TikTok Newsroom post from April 11, 2019 described the keyword tool as covering "comments that have already been made and any comments going forward." The menu path in that post is out of date, so use it as history only.

Deleting and blocking in bulk: 100 comments at a time

TikTok's comment management page sets the bulk limit: "Select the comments you'd like to delete. You can select up to 100 comments." You reach it by tapping the Filters button at the top, or by pressing and holding a comment and tapping Manage multiple comments.

Bulk block follows the same path. Select the comments, tap More at the bottom, then tap Block accounts.

A block reaches further than the comment. TikTok says a blocked person "can't view your videos or engage with you through direct messages, comments, follows, or likes." Keep blocks for scammers and repeat offenders, and use filters for everyone else.

TikTok's organic pages describe bulk delete and bulk block. Bulk hide shows up only in the ads tools.

Ad comments run on a separate set of tools

TikTok Ads Manager is where you moderate comments on paid videos, and its tools differ from the app's. The Ads Manager comments page lists two bulk actions for ad comments: hide or unhide, and export.

TikTok's developer docs also hold an Ad Comments Blocked Words group, with endpoints to create, update, check and get blocked words. Those cover ads only.

A business that runs both organic posts and ads keeps two lists. One lives in the app's Filter keywords, and the other lives in Ads Manager.

What third-party tools can reach through TikTok's API

TikTok's Accounts API lets an approved tool work on single comments on your videos. Its comment endpoints are create, reply, like and unlike, hide and unhide, delete, and list. A webhook tells the tool "within five minutes" when a comment is created, deleted or has its visibility changed.

The API reference's Comments group lists no endpoint for Filter all comments, Filter unwanted comments, keyword filters or Creator Care Mode. So your filters stay in the TikTok app, whichever tool you pick, and the tool works on the comments that reach you.

Several tools put social comments in a shared inbox, each at its own price, as of October 2026. Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Later, Pallyy and Vista Social read TikTok comments.

• Agorapulse is $79 per user a month on annual billing, as of July 2026, and gives one free moderation rule per social profile, with unlimited rules on its top plan.
• Hootsuite includes its inbox from Standard at $99 per user a month, billed annually.
• Sprout Social puts its inbox on Standard at $199 per seat a month, billed annually.
• Later's Conversations inbox, which includes TikTok comments, starts on Growth at $37.50 a month billed yearly, or $50 monthly.
• Pallyy's inbox starts on Pro at $25 a month, or $20 billed yearly.
• Vista Social Professional is $99 a month, or $80 billed yearly, with two users.

Pallyy and Later are cheaper than a per-seat team tool. Agorapulse's moderation rules suit a team that moderates at volume.

Where BetterSocials fits after the filters

BetterSocials connects a TikTok Business account and brings its comments and DMs into one inbox next to Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Each new comment and DM gets a tag when it arrives, such as Lead for price, booking or availability questions, Spam or Support.

AI replies run on three settings for comments and DMs: Off, Draft for me and Reply in my voice. Spam is skipped. Questions wait in Needs reply for your approval unless you turn on Answer questions too, which needs at least one AI rule, such as your prices or booking link.

TikTok sets the edges. A keyword in a TikTok comment gets a public reply with your link, because a TikTok comment can't trigger a private DM outside a rollout in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. DM replies are reply-only, at most 10 within 48 hours of the person's last message, and TikTok doesn't let apps answer DMs for accounts in the UK and Europe.

BetterSocials Creator is $29 a month, or $24 billed yearly, for four social accounts and one login. Pallyy's inbox costs less. What the extra buys is TikTok DM replies, keyword replies and AI drafts in your voice in the same inbox, with a 7-day free trial that needs a card.