How to Pin a Comment on TikTok in 2026 (Feature Removed - Use This Instead)

Quick Summary

• TikTok removed the ability to pin comments during a 2025 app update. The Pin comment option is gone from the long-press menu for the vast majority of accounts on iPhone, Android, and web. TikTok has not published an official statement.
• Old pinned comments still display on videos that were pinned before the change. Only new pins are no longer possible.
• The de-facto replacement is the First Comment label - TikTok now highlights the first comment under any video in pink with a "First Comment" badge. Beat your audience to your own comment section and that comment effectively replaces a pin.

If you came here looking for a long-press → Pin comment tutorial, the short version is: that option no longer exists for most TikTok accounts as of 2026. TikTok quietly stripped comment pinning out of the app during a 2025 update, never published a changelog entry for it, and never confirmed whether it's coming back. This guide is the honest, current state of the feature plus the workaround creators are using to recover the same outcome.

What Actually Changed

Long-pressing a comment on your own TikTok video used to surface five options: Reply, Like, Pin comment, Delete, and Report. As of the 2025 rollout, the menu now shows only Reply, Like, Delete, and Report. There is no Pin comment option in the bottom sheet, no Pin button in the comments tab, and no equivalent in TikTok Studio or the TikTok web app at tiktok.com.

This was confirmed across iOS, Android, and desktop, and has been picked up by mainstream coverage. TwistedSifter reported on the removal in September 2025, and the topic has accumulated millions of views across TikTok itself, with creators posting about the missing button under hashtags like #pinacomment.

A handful of accounts continue to report seeing Pin comment intermittently. That's consistent with a staged rollback or an A/B holdout group - if you still see it, treat it as a temporary leftover, not the long-term state of the feature.

Did TikTok Say Why?

No. TikTok has not posted a release-note entry, a creator blog post, or a Help Center update explaining the removal. The community consensus is one of three theories:

• Moderation cost. Pinned comments amplify whatever they say, including misinformation, harassment, or content that violates community guidelines. Removing the surface reduces the moderation burden.
• Abuse prevention. Pinned comments were occasionally used to game engagement (paid pin promotions, follow-back schemes, link laundering through the comment of a viral video).
• UI simplification ahead of a redesign. TikTok's comment section has been reshuffled multiple times in 2025; the First Comment label (more below) may be the intended replacement.

None of these are confirmed. Treat them as plausible, not authoritative.

What Happens to Comments That Were Already Pinned

If you pinned comments on older videos before the change, they remain pinned. The Pinned badge still shows at the top of the comments tab on those videos for every viewer, on every surface (mobile, web, embeds). You just can't add new ones, and if you unpin an existing pinned comment you cannot pin it back.

If you want to keep a legacy pinned comment, don't tap Unpin out of curiosity - there's no undo.

The Workaround: The "First Comment" Label

The closest replacement is a newer TikTok feature that came online around the same time as the pinning removal: TikTok now displays the first comment under any video with a distinct pink "First Comment" label, anchoring it visually near the top of the comments tab.

Because anyone can be the first commenter, the play for creators is straightforward: be the first person to comment on your own video, with your CTA, FAQ, or hook.

This was popularized by @queenoftrendalerts and has since become the standard advice across creator communities. It's not identical to a pin - the comment doesn't outrank highly-liked comments forever, and a faster-fingered viewer can technically beat you to it - but in practice, if you post the comment within seconds of publishing the video, you'll claim the First Comment slot before any real-time viewer sees it.

How to Claim the First Comment Slot

1. Post your video as usual from the TikTok app.
2. The moment it publishes, tap the comments icon on the video.
3. Type your CTA / FAQ / hook into the comment box and post it.
4. Refresh the comments tab. Your comment now sits at the top with the pink First Comment label.

If you have a large following and you're worried about being out-raced, write the comment text out in a notes app beforehand and paste it the instant the video goes live.

What to Put in the First Comment

The same content patterns that worked for pinned comments still work for first comments. After analyzing thousands of high-performing videos, four patterns consistently outperform:

• The FAQ first comment - pre-empt the most-asked question. ("Yes, the link is in my bio.")
• The hook first comment - tease a follow-up video to keep viewers in your ecosystem.
• The social-proof first comment - quote a real viewer's positive experience. (Less effective than a real viewer doing it, but still works.)
• The CTA first comment - a clear next step. ("Comment 'recipe' and I'll DM it to you.")

For help drafting these, see our TikTok Caption Generator - the same engagement principles apply to first comments.

Other Ways to Anchor a Message Now That Pinning Is Gone

The First Comment label is the cleanest replacement, but it's not the only lever. If you've lost a pinning workflow, consider:

• Lead with the answer in the caption. The caption is the only piece of post-publish text TikTok still gives the creator full prominence on. Treat the first line of the caption like a pinned comment.
• Reply to your own first comment with the longer version. Replies stack underneath, so a First Comment + Creator Reply chain reads like a two-line pinned message.
• Use on-screen text in the video itself. Burned-in text outranks any comment system - it's literally on the video.
• Republish-and-redirect. If the original post is buried and you can't pin a correction, post a follow-up video that opens with the correction and use the original's caption to link to it.

Will TikTok Bring Pinning Back?

Unknown. Features have come and gone on TikTok before, and the company doesn't pre-announce reversals. Two things to watch:

• The First Comment label sticking around. If TikTok keeps shipping refinements to it (e.g., extending it to multiple comments, or letting creators designate the First Comment), that's a signal it's meant as the replacement.
• A Studio-side announcement. If pinning returns, it's most likely to come back through TikTok Studio first (the desktop creator tool), since most other comment-management features now ship there before they hit the consumer app.

If you really need pin-style anchoring for a campaign or release, build the workflow around the First Comment + caption + on-screen text combination - those three are stable, and you can ship that workflow today.

"But Some Tutorials Online Still Show How to Pin"

You'll find articles dated 2026 that walk through the long-press → Pin comment flow as if nothing changed. They're stale - most are syndicated reposts of older content with the year swapped in the title, written by sites that don't actually verify the feature is live. If a tutorial doesn't acknowledge the 2025 removal, it's working from outdated information.

The fastest way to check for yourself: open one of your own videos in the TikTok mobile app, long-press any comment, and look at the menu. If there's no Pin option, your account is on the post-removal build (which, at time of writing, is essentially all accounts).

Troubleshooting

I still see Pin comment on my account - what gives? A small number of accounts continue to see it. This is consistent with a partial rollback, a staged removal, or an A/B holdout. Use it while you have it; don't build your strategy around it staying.

My old pinned comment disappeared. If a previously-pinned comment lost its Pinned badge, the most common causes are (a) the comment author deleted their comment, or (b) you accidentally tapped Unpin during the change-over window. Old pins cannot be re-pinned now that the feature is gone.

Can I pin a comment on a TikTok LIVE? LIVE has its own pinned message system that's separate from feed videos. That one still works, resets at the end of the stream, and is unaffected by the 2025 removal.

Can I pin in TikTok Studio or on the web app? No - and you never could. Pinning was mobile-only, and now it's effectively off everywhere.

Is the "First Comment" label guaranteed? The First Comment label shows up on the first comment under a video as long as comments are enabled and the comment hasn't been deleted. If you delete your first comment, the label transfers to the next-earliest comment.

The Bottom Line

TikTok removed comment pinning in 2025 without an official explanation. The Pin comment option is no longer in the long-press menu for the vast majority of accounts on any device. Old pinned comments still display, but you can't create new ones.

Key takeaways:

• Pin comment is gone from the long-press menu on iPhone, Android, web, and TikTok Studio as of the 2025 rollout.
• Old pins remain on videos that were pinned before the change - don't unpin them, you can't re-pin.
• The new lever is the First Comment label - comment on your own video first and TikTok will highlight it in pink with a First Comment badge.
• Combine First Comment + caption first line + on-screen text for the closest equivalent to the old pinned-comment workflow.
• Some accounts still see Pin comment intermittently. Treat it as a leftover, not a strategy.

For more TikTok creator tips that are current in 2026, see how to block someone on TikTok, how to repost on TikTok, how to see saved videos on TikTok, how to clear TikTok cache, how to add a link to your TikTok bio, and where to find TikTok drafts.

---

Free TikTok Tools

• TikTok Caption Generator - write captions and first-comment hooks that drive replies
• TikTok Hashtag Generator - find relevant tags for your niche
• TikTok Character Counter - stay inside the caption limit

The First Comment hack only works if you're at your phone the second a video goes live - which is fine for one-off uploads but breaks the moment you're scheduling around launches, campaigns, or a real posting cadence. Genviral's TikTok Scheduler handles the desktop side of TikTok so you can plan, write, and queue from your PC, then jump to your phone only for the few mobile-only moments that still need it.