Feature overview
| Description | Shorthand | Research API | Hidden API |
|---|---|---|---|
| search videos | tt_search | tt_search_api | tt_search_hidden1 |
| get video detail (+file) | tt_videos | - | tt_videos_hidden |
| get user videos | tt_user_videos | tt_user_videos_api | tt_user_videos_hidden |
| get user info | tt_user_info | tt_user_info_api | tt_user_info_hidden |
| get comments under a video | tt_comments | tt_comments_api | - |
| get who follows a user | tt_get_follower | tt_user_follower_api | tt_get_follower_hidden |
| get who a user is following | tt_get_following | tt_user_following_api | tt_get_following_hidden |
| get videos a user liked | tt_get_liked | tt_user_liked_videos_api | - |
| get pinned videos of users | tt_get_pinned | tt_user_pinned_videos_api | - |
| get videos in a playlist | tt_playlist | tt_playlist_api | - |
| get raw post data | - | - | tt_request_hidden |
| authenticate a session | - | auth_research | auth_hidden |
The goal of traktok is to provide easy access to TikTok data. This package one started as an R port of Deen Freelon’s Pyktok Python module (though it is a complete rewrite without Python dependencies). It now covers functions from the secret hidden API that TikTok is using to show/search/play videos on their Website and the official Research API. Since the Research API misses some important features (and since not everyone has access to it) it can often make sense to still use the hidden API that mocks requests from a browser. However, an important disclaimer for the hidden API applies:
This program may stop working suddenly if TikTok changes how it stores its data (see Freelon, 2018).
However, the last times, it was fixed rather quickly (e.g., #12).
Installation
You can install the development version of traktok from GitHub with:
# install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_github("JBGruber/traktok")In Research
The research papers and projects below have used traktok to gather their data:
- Hohner, J., Kakavand, A., & Rothut, S. (2024). Analyzing Radical Visuals at Scale: How Far-Right Groups Mobilize on TikTok. Journal of Digital Social Research, 6(1), 10–30. https://doi.org/10.33621/jdsr.v6i1.200
- Bach, P., Gitomer, A., Devries, M., Walker, C., Deyoe, D., Atienza-Bathelemy, J., Foucault Welles, B., Freelon, D., & Zulli, D. (2023, October). Stitching Politics and Identity on TikTok. Panel presented at AoIR2023: The 24th Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. Philadelphia, PA, USA: AoIR. Retrieved from http://spir.aoir.org
- Wirz, D. S., Zai, F., Vogler, D., Urman, A., & Eisenegger, M. (2023). Die Qualität von Schweizer Medien auf Instagram und TikTok. https://doi.org/10.5167/UZH-238605
- Giglietto, F. (2024). Dashboard: TikTok Coordinated Sharing Network. https://fabiogiglietto.github.io/tiktok_csbn/tt_viz.html
If you have used traktok in your research paper or project, please extend this list through a Pull Request or create an issue