Thanks to BTS and their fandom, I've learned a lot about pop music's history, the intricacies of Billboard's charting policies, and South Korea's cultural norms. I've also learned, sometimes along with the members of the group themselves, about the importance of protecting your private accounts online.

Before joining the military in 2023, Jung Kook, BTS' main vocalist and a chart-topping soloist in his own right, received a tough lesson about TikTok's default account privacy settings when he accidentally exposed his private account name to his fans on social media. 

(Credit: X/PCMag)

The TikTok Untold 

Jeon Jungkook, whose stage name is Jung Kook but is often referred to as "JK" or "Kookie" by fans, also apparently goes by "Ian." We know this because the "Seven" singer posted a link to a TikTok dance challenge video to his profile on Weverse, a social media platform. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old entertainer shared more information than he intended. When fans clicked on the link, a banner appeared, broadcasting the account owner's name for all to see.

(Credit: X/PCMag)

Jung Kook's small gaffe exposed the private account he says he uses for monitoring social media, destroying his chance of retaining anonymity on TikTok. Thankfully, the "Euphoria" crooner is quick on his feet and showed good humor with quips about the incident on Weverse, a great new name for the TikTok account (letjungcook7), and changes to the account's privacy settings.

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(Credit: TikTok/PCMag)

How to Lock Down Your TikTok Profile

Many BTS fans lovingly clowned on Jung Kook after the incident, but we can all learn a lesson here: If you want to avoid exposing a lot of personal information while browsing TikTok, you need to lock down your account. To keep your information private, try the following tips:

1. Don't share links from your private or secret accounts. You can't stop TikTok from broadcasting your screenname whenever you share a link, so avoid sharing a link from an account you'd like to keep to yourself.
2. Update your privacy settings. While using the app, navigate to Settings and Privacy and tap Privacy. From that menu, you can toggle your private account on and off. If you have a private TikTok account, only approved users and followers can watch your videos. You can switch the account back to Public by tapping the toggle again.
3. Turn off account suggestions and contact syncing. If you don't want nosy colleagues from four jobs ago sending you follow requests or viewing your content, tap "Suggest your account to others" in the Privacy menu and toggle off all suggestion options.
4. Revoke TikTok's access to your information. The privacy menu has an option to revoke TikTok’s access to your phone's contact list. This will prevent TikTok from seeing who you are friends with IRL and instantly improve your privacy on the platform.
5. Change your interaction settings. You can also change how others interact with you and your content within the Privacy menu. You can change the comments and messaging options, but to deter online creeping, you'll want to keep your Liked videos, Post view history, and Profile view history turned off. These options are inactive by default. You can also keep people from seeing who you follow in the same menu.
6. Secure your TikTok account. Make sure no one else has access by enabling multi-factor authentication on your account via the Security menu. You can use an authenticator app on your phone to secure your account—which we recommend—or other, less secure authentication methods, such as email verification or SMS. You can see what other devices are logged into your TikTok account by tapping the Manage Devices tab. If you see devices you don't use or don't recognize, remove them. You should also stop by the Browser Settings section and toggle off the options to autofill payment or contact information in TikTok's in-app browser.
7. Change your password. You shouldn't be using the same password everywhere online, but if you are, this is your sign to switch things up. Download and use a password manager, and then not only will you never have to create or remember your passwords, you won't even have to type them ever again. Apple just released a capable and free password management app for iOS devices and Macs, while Android fans can use Google's free password manager app.

Please, Just Let Jung Cook

(Credit: TikTok/PCMag)

Older generations usually associate various forms of social media with youth culture. Though Jung Kook is the youngest member of BTS, he's also been the least active, at least publicly, on social media platforms. In early 2023, the entertainer famously deleted his Instagram account, which had over 52 million followers. At the time of publishing, Jung Kook’s personal yet professional TikTok has a new name again (AbjkMRstY). The account is Public, so fans can view his Liked videos, which are mostly dance challenges and comedy videos.

Shying away from social media is usually a good idea for anyone in the public eye, but it may be the right move for us normal folks, too. Oversharing on social platforms can give scammers vital information about you that they can use for hacking attempts or phishing schemes. Posting photos and videos of your vacation could let burglars know when you're away from home. Sharing health concerns publicly could lead to insurance companies denying your claims.

Be like Jung Kook. Keep your public profile low and your personal boundaries high. Social media can be fun, but it's wise to respect the dangers it poses, too.