Tiktok Demographics

TikTok Demographics: What’s Blocked, What We Have, What’s Possible

Date: March 2026
Scope: TikTok Display API v2 · TikTok Research API · Creator Marketplace API · Third-party alternatives

1. What We Currently Collect (Display API v2)

This is what your [TikTokDailyScheduler.js](file:///Users/doom/Documents/inicrea/AE/genesis-web/packages/server/services/cron/TikTokDailyScheduler.js) already fetches successfully via official user OAuth tokens.

`/v2/user/info/` — Account-level

Field	Stored As	Notes
`follower_count`	`metrics[].title = "Total Followers"`	Live, reliable
`video_count`	`metrics[].title = "Total Videos"`	Live, reliable
`likes_count`	`metrics[].title = "Total Video Likes"`	Cumulative across all videos
`avatar_url`, `username`, `bio_description`, `is_verified`	`userProfile` in `TikTokMetricsModel`	Synced to `SocialModel`

`/v2/video/list/` — Per-video

Field	Stored As
`like_count`, `comment_count`, `share_count`, `view_count`	`ScheduledPost.platformStatus.tiktok.metrics`
`cover_image_url`, `share_url`, `duration`, `title`	`ScheduledPost.platformStatus.tiktok`
Derived: `engagement_rate`	[(total_interactions / follower_count) * 100](file:///Users/doom/Documents/inicrea/AE/genesis-web/packages/server/services/cron/TikTokDailyScheduler.js#2323-2327)

Demographics — `TikTokMetricsModel.demographics`

json

{ "country": [], "gender": [], "age": [], "city": [] }

All four arrays are permanently empty. [generateTikTokDemographics()](file:///Users/doom/Documents/inicrea/AE/genesis-web/packages/server/services/cron/TikTokDailyScheduler.js#1569-1583) returns empty arrays with a JSDoc comment acknowledging this is a known Display API limitation.

2. What Is Permanently Blocked (Display API User OAuth)

These are hard limits in the TikTok Display API. No workaround exists within the current OAuth token flow.

Requested Data	Status	Why
Age distribution of followers	❌ Blocked	Not in any Display API endpoint
Gender distribution of followers	❌ Blocked	Not in any Display API endpoint
Follower country / city breakdown	❌ Blocked	Not in any Display API endpoint
Follower growth over time	❌ Blocked	No delta/history endpoint; only current count
Per-video impressions / reach	❌ Blocked	Not in any Display API endpoint
Per-video saves (favorites)	❌ Blocked	`favorites_count` exists in Research API only
Watch time / average watch time	❌ Blocked	Not in Display API; available via Business/Marketing API (24–48 hr delay)
Account-level profile views	❌ Blocked	Not in Display API
Non-public video data	❌ Blocked	`SELF_ONLY`, `MUTUAL_FOLLOW_FRIENDS`, `FOLLOWER_OF_CREATOR` videos are invisible

Root cause: TikTok deliberately separates audience-level analytics from the Display API. The Display API is scoped to content metadata and basic account stats only. Audience insights live in the Business API ecosystem and are protected behind a separate approval process.

3. The Research API — What It Offers and Why We Can’t Use It Easily

What It Provides

Query public video content with expanded fields: view_count, like_count, comment_count, share_count, hashtag_names, video_description
Query comments on public videos
Query user info, follower/following lists, liked/pinned/reposted videos for public creators (individual records, not aggregated)

What It Does NOT Provide

Follower demographics (age, gender, country, city) for a given creator — not available at all
Any per-creator audience breakdown

Note: The Research API does provide endpoints for follower lists (/v2/research/user/followers/), liked videos (/v2/research/user/liked_videos/), pinned videos (/v2/research/user/pinned_videos/), and reposted videos (/v2/research/user/reposted_videos/). These return individual records, not aggregated demographics.

Access Barriers (All Three Need to Be Met)

Institutional qualification — Requires university or accredited research organization affiliation. Commercial SaaS companies are typically rejected.
Separate auth flow — Uses client credentials (app-level), NOT user OAuth tokens. Your current token infrastructure does not apply.
Data restrictions — Must refresh data every 15 days, cannot share with third parties, rate limit is 1,000 requests/day (100 videos/request).
Active enforcement — An independent audit (AI Forensics, 2025) found ~12.5% (1 in 8) of public videos are silently missing from API responses. Random account exclusions affect ~1% of creators without explanation, including some high-profile accounts.

Verdict: The Research API will not solve the demographics gap. It’s designed for academic trend studies, not creator audience analytics:

4. The Creator Marketplace API (Marketing API) — The Correct Official Path

TikTok’s Creator Marketplace API is part of the Marketing API ecosystem (ads.tiktok.com/marketing_api/). It is the only official TikTok surface that exposes organic creator audience demographics — no ads required, no promoted posts involved.

What the Data Covers

This is 100% organic audience data. It reflects the demographics of a creator’s actual followers, not ad campaign reach or promoted post audiences.

Data Point	Detail
Follower age brackets	13-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45+ as percentages
Follower gender	Male / Female / Other split
Follower top countries	Top N countries with percentage share
Follower growth	Trend over time (daily/weekly breakdowns)
Avg video views, engagement rate	Organic performance metrics

The Critical Eligibility Caveat

Important

Who can connect: Any creator can connect their TikTok account to your Business API app via OAuth. Eligibility does not gate the connection.

Who gets demographics: The demographics API only returns data for creators who are enrolled in TikTok Creator Marketplace. TikTok’s eligibility threshold is typically 10,000+ followers (or 50,000 in South Korea). Creators below this or who haven’t opted in get no demographic data — the API returns empty or an error.

Implementation: Let all users connect. For ineligible creators, the API will return empty or an error; handle gracefully (e.g. show “Demographics not available” like the current Display API behavior).

Official docs: TikTok Creator Marketplace – support.tiktok.com

Step-by-Step: How to Implement This

Phase 1 — TikTok Partner Application (External, ~4–8 weeks)

Create a TikTok for Business developer account
→ https://ads.tiktok.com/marketing_api/
Use the company business account, not a personal account.
Create a Marketing API app in the TikTok Developer Portal
App type: Web Marketing API

Select APIs when creating the app — In the “What services do you provide?” and API selection screens, choose:

API / Feature	Select?	Reason
TikTok Creator Marketplace (TCM)	Yes	Required. Only API that exposes organic creator audience demographics (age, gender, country).
Audience Management	Yes	Supports audience insights use case; aligns with demographics display.
Reporting	Optional	Useful if you report analytics to users in dashboards.
Ad Account Management	No	Ad-focused; not needed for organic analytics.
Ads Management	No	Ad campaigns; not our use case.
Measurement	No	Ad campaign measurement.
Creative Management	No	Ad creatives.
App Management	No	Ad app events.
Pixel Management	No	Ad tracking.
DPA Catalog Management	No	Product catalogs.
Reach & Frequency	No	Ad planning.
Lead Management	No	Ad leads.
TikTok Creator	No	Content posting; we use Display API for that.
Ad Comments	No	Ad comments.
TikTok Business Plugin	No	Website plugin.
Automated Rules	No	Ad automation.
Onsite Commerce Store	No	E-commerce.
Offline Events Management	No	Offline attribution.
Ad Diagnosis	No	Ad diagnostics.
Mentions	No	Brand mentions.
CRM Event Management	No	CRM integration.
Business Recommendation	No	Ad recommendations.
CTX Events Management	No	Conversion events.
Brand Safety	No	Ad brand safety.
Partner Insights	No	Partner-level insights.

Minimum required: TikTok Creator Marketplace (TCM) + Audience Management.

Submit for TikTok review
TikTok manually reviews the app and its use case. You must clearly justify why you need creator audience data (analytics platform for artists). Provide:
- Company description and website
- Use case explanation (creator analytics, not ad buying)
- How you’ll handle and display the data
- Privacy policy URL
Await approval — typically 4–8 weeks. TikTok may request a demo or additional documentation.

Phase 2 — Second OAuth Flow (Engineering, ~1–2 weeks)

This is a separate OAuth from the Display API we currently use. Users will need to connect both.

Current: Display API OAuth  →  access to follower count, video list
New:     Marketing API OAuth →  access to audience demographics

Implement Marketing API OAuth alongside the existing Display API OAuth

// Existing Display API token (already in SocialTokenModel)
tiktokAccessToken  // Bearer token for /v2/user/info/, /v2/video/list/

// New Marketing API token (needs a new field or a separate token store)
tiktokMarketingToken  // Bearer token for Creator Marketplace endpoints

Add a “Connect TikTok Analytics” button in the UI for users to authorize the new scope
(Can be presented as optional / for users who want to unlock audience insights)

Phase 3 — Fetch & Store Demographics (Engineering, ~1 week)

Call the Creator Marketplace endpoint after token is acquired

// Audience demographics
GET https://business-api.tiktok.com/open_api/v1.3/creator/profile/
  ?creator_id={tiktok_open_id}
Headers: { 'Access-Token': tiktokMarketingToken }

Response shape (approximate):

json

{
  "audience_genders": [
    { "gender": "MALE", "percentage": 0.54 },
    { "gender": "FEMALE", "percentage": 0.46 }
  ],
  "audience_ages": [
    { "age_range": "18-24", "percentage": 0.34 },
    { "age_range": "25-34", "percentage": 0.41 }
  ],
  "audience_countries": [
    { "country_code": "US", "percentage": 0.28 },
    { "country_code": "IN", "percentage": 0.15 }
  ]
}

Normalize to existing schema in [generateTikTokDemographics()](file:///Users/doom/Documents/inicrea/AE/genesis-web/packages/server/services/cron/TikTokDailyScheduler.js#1569-1583)

async generateTikTokDemographics(tiktokUserId, marketingAccessToken) {
  if (!marketingAccessToken) {
    return { country: [], gender: [], age: [], city: [] }; // unchanged
  }

  const res = await fetch(
    `https://business-api.tiktok.com/open_api/v1.3/creator/profile/?creator_id=${tiktokUserId}`,
    { headers: { 'Access-Token': marketingAccessToken } }
  );
  const data = await res.json();

  return {
    gender: (data.audience_genders || []).map(g => ({
      label: g.gender,
      value: Math.round(g.percentage * 100)
    })),
    age: (data.audience_ages || []).map(a => ({
      label: a.age_range,
      value: Math.round(a.percentage * 100)
    })),
    country: (data.audience_countries || []).map(c => ({
      label: c.country_code,
      value: Math.round(c.percentage * 100)
    })),
    city: [] // Not available via this endpoint
  };
}

No schema migration needed — TikTokMetricsModel.demographics already has the correct shape.

Phase 4 — Storage & Token Management

Store the Marketing API token — Add tiktokMarketingAccessToken + tiktokMarketingExpiresAt to SocialTokenModel
Handle token refresh — Marketing API tokens follow the same refresh pattern as Display API tokens
Graceful degradation — If no Marketing token exists, [generateTikTokDemographics()](file:///Users/doom/Documents/inicrea/AE/genesis-web/packages/server/services/cron/TikTokDailyScheduler.js#1569-1583) returns empty arrays silently (current behavior, no breakage)

Summary of Effort

Phase	Owner	Timeline
TikTok Partner Application	Business/Product	4–8 weeks (TikTok review)
Marketing API OAuth flow	Backend + Frontend	~1–2 weeks engineering
Demographics fetch + normalize	Backend	~1 week
Token storage + refresh	Backend	~2 days
Total		~6–10 weeks end-to-end

Verdict: This is the only official, zero-ToS-risk path to real audience demographics. The blocking factor is TikTok’s approval timeline. Demographics data is only returned for creators enrolled in Creator Marketplace (typically 10K+ followers); ineligible creators can still connect but will get empty demographics — handle gracefully.

5. Alternative Paths — Ranked by Feasibility

Option A: Phyllo / HypeAuditor / Modash — Third-Party Data Aggregators

These services scrape, infer, or aggregate TikTok data independently and expose it via their own API.

Service	Demographic Coverage	Auth Model	Cost
Phyllo	Age, gender, country, city	Creator OAuth (user connects)	Per-profile API pricing
HypeAuditor	Age, gender, country, authenticity score	No creator auth needed (public data inference)	Per-lookup or subscription
Modash	Country, age, interests	No creator auth needed	Subscription
ScrapeCreators	Country only (currently)	API key	Pay-per-use

Phyllo is the most precise because it connects via the user’s TikTok session (similar to how we currently auth), getting first-party data. Though they plug into the same Display API, they have additional data enrichment pipelines.

HypeAuditor / Modash infer demographics from engagement patterns and follower profile signals — data is estimated, not official. Useful for influencer discovery but not for a creator’s own accurate analytics dashboard.

How we’d integrate (Phyllo example):

User connects TikTok in our app
  → We pass session to Phyllo SDK
  → Phyllo returns demographics JSON
  → We normalize to our TikTokMetrics schema
  → demographics.age, .gender, .country, .city populated

Risk: These APIs rely on TikTok behaviors that TikTok can change without notice. Terms of service grey area.

Option B: Proxy Inference from Existing Video Data

We already collect view_count, like_count, comment_count, share_count per video. From this, we can derive proxy demographic signals without any new API calls:

Derived Metric	Method
Content-level geo signal	Map hashtags to languages/regions (e.g., `#fyp` vs `#foryoupage` vs `#kepadamu`)
Audience activity hours	Compare `create_time` vs `view_count` velocity patterns (when views spike)
Content genre audience profile	Use video `title`/`video_description` topic clustering to infer likely audience
Follower growth rate	Compare `follower_count` snapshots day-over-day from `TikTokMetrics` collection

Follower growth is actually already implementable right now: we store a TikTokMetrics doc per day per user. Comparing metrics[0].value (Total Followers) across consecutive days gives exact follower growth.

Example query:

const last30Days = await TikTokMetricsModel.find({ user: userId })
  .sort({ date: -1 })
  .limit(30)
  .lean();
// follower_growth[i] = last30Days[i].metrics.find(m=>m.title==='Total Followers').value
//                    - last30Days[i+1].metrics...value

This is 100% feasible today with zero new API calls and produces a real, accurate follower growth time series.

Option C: TikTok Ads Manager Audience Insights (Manual/Webhook)

If your users run TikTok ads, the Ads Manager provides aggregated audience insights (age, gender, country, interests) via the Marketing API. This requires:

User has a TikTok Ads account
User connects it via the Business API OAuth
Very different user journey from Display API

Not practical for organic creator accounts.

Option D: User Self-Reporting

Ask users to paste/upload their TikTok Analytics screenshot or CSV export (available in TikTok Creator Center → Analytics → Download Data). We parse it server-side. Low-tech but covers:

Follower age bracket
Follower gender
Follower top territories

Implementation: CSV/image upload endpoint → parser → normalize to TikTokMetrics.demographics schema. No API dependency at all.

6. Current Schema Readiness

The TikTokMetricsModel already has the correct schema structure for demographics:

demographics: {
  gender: [{ label: String, value: Number }],
  country: [{ label: String, value: Number }],
  city:    [{ label: String, value: Number }],
  age:     [{ label: String, value: Number }]
}

This is ready to accept data from any of the above alternatives. No schema migration needed — only the [generateTikTokDemographics()](file:///Users/doom/Documents/inicrea/AE/genesis-web/packages/server/services/cron/TikTokDailyScheduler.js#1569-1583) method needs to be replaced with a real data source.

7. Summary Decision Matrix

Approach	Demographic Data	Effort	Risk	Cost
Display API (current)	❌ None	—	None	Free
Research API	❌ None	High (rejected for SaaS)	Rejected	Free if approved
Creator Marketplace API ⭐	✅ Age, gender, country (organic)	High (~6–10 wks)	Approval risk	Free
Phyllo	✅ Age, gender, country, city	Medium	ToS grey area	Paid per-profile
HypeAuditor / Modash	⚠️ Estimated/inferred	Low	Accuracy	Paid
Follower growth from snapshots ⭐	✅ Growth rate (implementable now)	Very Low	None	Free
User CSV upload	✅ Age, gender, territory	Medium	User friction	Free
Proxy inference from content	⚠️ Indirect signals only	Medium	Accuracy	Free

8. Recommended Action Plan

Right now — no new APIs, no cost:

Implement follower growth tracking by diffing TikTokMetrics daily snapshots. Already collectible.
Display { country: [], gender: [], age: [], city: [] } to frontend with a clear tooltip: “TikTok does not expose audience demographics via their public API.”

If demographics are a confirmed product requirement:

Start the TikTok Marketing API partner application immediately (see Phase 1 above) — the review process is the longest bottleneck.
Engineering work for OAuth + fetch + storage can run in parallel once the application is submitted.
Scope caveat clearly: any creator can connect; demographics will only be returned for creators enrolled in Creator Marketplace (typically 10K+ followers). For others, show empty demographics gracefully.

Do not do:

Do not fake or interpolate demographic data from engagement metrics and show it as audience demographics — it will be inaccurate and misleading to artists.