Trying out viral TikTok dances can be fun, encouraging a sense of freedom and playful silliness that we might not usually let ourselves indulge in. It's also fun sharing TikToks with friends and family members who'll appreciate them most, dropping the links in your group chats like little gifts. What's less fun is when these two otherwise harmless activities collide, resulting in your mum watching you drop it low to Erica Banks' "Buss It."

When you share a TikTok video, the app automatically suggests your account profile to whoever opens the link, regardless of where you shared it. While this feature can be useful if you want to build up a solid following on the video sharing app, it's less than ideal for those who want what happens on TikTok to stay on TikTok.

Fortunately, there is a way to stop TikTok from embarrassing you in front of people you actually have to see in real life. Here's how to stop TikTok from suggesting that people follow your account whenever you share a link.

1. Open TikTok.

2. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner to go to your account profile.

3. Tap the hamburger icon in the top right corner ("≡"). This will bring you to your "Settings and privacy" menu.

4. Under the "Account" subheading, tap on "Privacy" to go to your privacy settings. 

5. From there, look under the "Discoverability" subheading to find "Suggest your account to others" and tap on it.

6. You will be taken to a menu with several toggles that allow you to control how others can find your account. Toggle off "People who open or send links to you."

Once you've done that, copying a link from TikTok and sending it to a loved one will no longer leave you exposed.

You can also review your other discoverability settings while you're at it, preventing people from finding you through your phone contacts, Facebook, and mutual connections as well. It's probably a good idea to do so if you want to keep your stumbling attempts at finding TikTok stardom separate from your everyday life.