# Creators and accounts

> Add creators and their TikTok and Instagram accounts, choose which posts count, and handle private or failing accounts.

A **creator** is a person or brand. An **account** is one of their presences on a platform. Add a creator, give them one or more accounts, and trackagoat tracks every account's posts and stats. This page covers adding them, choosing which posts count, and what to do when an account goes private or stops updating.

## The model: creators own accounts

A single creator can have:

- A TikTok account
- An Instagram account
- More than one account on the same platform (for example, a main and a backup TikTok)

That lets you track someone's whole footprint under one creator and see their combined performance.

> **Note:**
>
> trackagoat tracks TikTok and Instagram accounts. YouTube isn't supported.

> **Note:**
>
> If you tracked TikTok creators before Trackagoat 2.0, nothing changed for you: each creator was migrated to have one TikTok account, and all history, videos, campaigns, goals and payouts carried over.

## Adding a creator

In your project, go to **Creators → Add creator** and add one or more accounts by:

- **Profile URL**: the platform is detected automatically (`https://www.tiktok.com/@username`, `https://www.instagram.com/username/`). See [accepted links](#accepted-profile-links) below.
- **Handle**: pick the platform, then enter `@username` or `username`.

trackagoat starts a first update for each account straight away. The first stats usually appear within a few minutes.

> **Note:**
>
> Creators belong to a project. The same account can be tracked in more than one project in the same org.

## Adding an account

On any creator, click **Add account** and paste a profile URL or handle:

- **TikTok**: `https://www.tiktok.com/@username` or `@username`
- **Instagram**: `https://www.instagram.com/username/` or `@username`

### Accepted profile links

Paste the link straight from the app or browser. Query strings (`?hl=en`, `?igsh=…`), a trailing slash, `www.`/`m.` and a missing `https://` are all fine.

| Platform | Accepted |
|----------|----------|
| TikTok | `tiktok.com/@username`, `m.tiktok.com/@username`, and share links (`vm.tiktok.com/…`, `vt.tiktok.com/…`, `tiktok.com/t/…`), which are followed to the profile they point to |
| Instagram | `instagram.com/username/`, `instagram.com/username/reels/`, `instagram.com/stories/username/…` |

Handles are saved without the `@` and in lowercase, so `@SomeUser` and `someuser` are the same account. A link to a post, reel or video is rejected: paste the account's profile link or handle instead.

Discovery, stats and analytics then work the same way on every platform. See [Instagram](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/instagram.md) for what Instagram exposes.

## Combined and per-account stats

Every creator page defaults to the creator's **combined** performance across all their accounts: followers, views and posting cadence summed across platforms. An **account switcher** in the header filters any tab down to one account or platform. When a creator has two accounts on one platform, the switcher shows each handle.

A creator's header shows a **primary handle**: their TikTok account's handle if they have one, otherwise the earliest-added account's. The API returns it as the creator's top-level `handle`.

Creator-level stats (followers, likes, video count) are the **sum across the creator's accounts**.

## The Accounts tab

The **Accounts** tab (under *Tracking* in the sidebar) lists every platform account across your creators, with its platform, creator, follower count, tracked-video count, tracking mode, last update and status. Filter by platform or search by handle.

Select an account to open its page: its own stats, data freshness, a link to its creator, a link to the live profile, and the videos tracked for it. Instagram doesn't expose a total-likes figure, so *Total Likes* shows **Not available** there.

## Plan limits count accounts

A creator on its own costs nothing to track, so plan limits count **accounts** (the thing that gets updated), not creators. Add as many creators as you like. See [Plans and limits](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/limits.md).

## Tracking modes

Each **account** has a **tracking mode** that determines how newly discovered videos from that account enter the system. There are three modes.

| Mode | Behavior |
|------|----------|
| **Auto** | All newly discovered videos are automatically added with status `auto_tracked` and included in stats. |
| **Selective** | Newly discovered videos enter the **Tracking Inbox** with status `pending_review`. A team member must approve or exclude each video. |
| **Hashtag** | Videos whose caption contains one of your tracked hashtags are auto-tracked. Everything else goes to the Inbox or is excluded. Your choice. |

Change tracking mode in the **Settings** section of the creator's **Info** tab. That section edits the creator's primary account. Each account has its own mode; to set a different mode on another account, use [`PATCH /api/v2/accounts/{id}`](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/api-reference/accounts.md).

Use **Selective** mode when you want to curate which of an account's videos count toward your program: for example, if a creator posts off-topic content you don't want in your campaign stats.

### Hashtag mode

Hashtag mode automates that curation. Define a list of hashtags, and any newly discovered video whose caption includes one of them is tracked automatically: no manual review.

This fits the common case where a creator posts both sponsored and personal content, and only posts carrying your campaign tag should count.

**Configuring it:**

1. Set the account's tracking mode to **Hashtag**.
2. Add one or more hashtags (up to **50**, each up to 100 characters). Type or paste them, pressing Enter or comma between each. The leading `#` is optional and case doesn't matter: `#Summer2026`, `Summer2026`, and `summer2026` are all stored the same way.
3. Choose what happens to everything else with **Send non-matching videos to the Tracking Inbox**:
   - **On** (default), non-matching videos land in the Inbox as `pending_review`, so you can still pull one in manually.
   - **Off**: non-matching videos are marked `excluded` immediately. They're still recorded and visible under *Show excluded* in the Inbox, but never counted in stats.

> **Note:**
>
> **Hashtags are cleaned before they're saved.** A tag is stored lowercase, Unicode-normalized, with the leading `#` removed and any character that can't appear in a hashtag stripped out. So `#Black-Friday` is saved as `blackfriday`, which is how that campaign is actually tagged.
>
> Whitespace and commas separate one tag from the next, so `"#ad, black-friday"` gives you two tags: `ad` and `blackfriday`.
>
> The same cleaning is applied when reading a video's caption, so the two always line up: a caption written `#Black-Friday` also reduces to `blackfriday` and matches.
>
> The chips shown after you save are exactly what is stored. If one looks different from what you typed, that's why, and you can remove it and try again.
>
> Normalization runs in the database, so it applies no matter how the account is edited: the app, the API, or a direct integration.

**How matching works:**

- Matching runs on the video's **caption**, and only on true hashtag tokens. Tracking `ad` matches `#ad` but not the word "already" and not `#advertisement`.
- A video matches if it contains **any one** of your tracked hashtags.
- Matching works the same way on **TikTok and Instagram**.

> **Warning:**
>
> **Instagram creators often put hashtags in the first comment** rather than the caption. trackagoat only reads the caption, so those posts will not match. If a creator does this, use Selective mode for that account instead.

> **Note:**
>
> **Some videos arrive with no caption.** This happens on any platform, most often when TikTok scraping falls back to its secondary path, which returns no captions. Whatever the cause, a video with no caption always goes to the Tracking Inbox, even when *Send non-matching to Inbox* is off, so a scraping gap never quietly drops a post.

**Two things hashtag mode does not do:**

- **Editing your hashtag list does not re-classify videos you've already discovered.** The list applies to videos found *after* the change. This is deliberate: re-running the rules would overwrite approve/exclude decisions your team already made.
- For the same reason, a video that landed in the Inbox because its caption was missing stays there even if a later scrape fills the caption in. Approve it from the Inbox.

## Creator detail tabs

| Tab | What you see |
|-----|-------------|
| **Analytics** | Followers, views and posting charts: combined across the creator's accounts, or scoped to one via the account switcher. |
| **Accounts** | Each of the creator's accounts with its platform, tracking mode and last update. Add another account here. |
| **Videos** | All tracked videos for this creator across every account, each showing its platform, tracking status, and current stats. |
| **Goals** | The creator's goals and compliance status. See [Creator goals](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/goals.md). |
| **Payouts** | What the creator has earned and been paid. See [Payouts](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/payouts.md). |
| **Conversions** | Conversions attributed to the creator. See [Conversions](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/conversions.md). |
| **Info** | Display name, README, tracking settings (mode, hashtags, start and end dates), the shareable page (org admins), details, and **History**. |

**History** on the Info tab is the creator's change log. It records automatic events: added to, removed from or re-added to tracking; deactivated and reactivated, with the choices made and the reason; re-enabled after an auto-disable; auto-disabled; account went private or public; tracking mode and tracking date changes; handle, display name, bio and avatar changes; campaign additions and removals; and follower, likes and video milestones.

To remove a creator, use **Delete Creator** in the **⋯** menu on the creator page. Their stats history is kept. To pause a creator and keep the option to bring them back, deactivate them instead. See [Deactivating creators and accounts](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/deactivating.md).

## README

Every creator has a **README** on the **Info** tab: a markdown editor for your team's context. Use it for:

- Creator background, niche, and content focus
- Relationship history and contact notes
- Known issues (e.g. "tends to post late on Mondays")
- Instructions for AI agents analyzing this creator

The README is the `readme` field on creator objects in the API. Agents read it before they act and add their findings to it as a dated, signed section, without overwriting what you wrote. See [Notes and documents](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/agents/notes.md).

> **Tip:**
>
> AI agents read the `readme` field before analyzing a creator. If you're using trackagoat with an AI tool, write a clear README: it directly shapes the quality of agent analysis.

## Tracking start date

Each account has a **tracking start date** that sets the lower bound for that account's stats history displayed in charts. If you added a creator mid-program, set this date to the program start so charts aren't misleading. Set it in the **Settings** section of the creator's **Info** tab (it edits the primary account), or per account through the API.

## Private accounts

When a tracked account switches to private, it becomes the quietest kind of
problem: its profile still updates (follower counts stay public), so nothing
fails and nothing is auto-disabled, but no new post is ever discovered. Left
unflagged, the creator simply reads as someone who stopped posting.

trackagoat detects the switch on the next profile update and:

- Marks the account with a **Private** badge on the creator page, the creators
  list, the accounts list and the account page. Hover it to see when it went
  private and what stops working.
- Sends org admins an **Account went private** notification.
- Raises an alert on [Program Health](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/program-health.md) listing every
  private account in the project.

While an account is private:

- New posts can't be discovered
- View and engagement counts stop updating
- Posting goals read as missed, because the posts aren't visible to us
- Goal and CPM payout periods hold, waiting for post data that can't arrive

The account stays tracked; nothing is disabled or deleted. Ask the creator to
switch back to a public account; detection is automatic in both directions, and
when it reopens you'll get an **Account is public again** notification, the badge
clears, and we backfill the posts we can still reach.

> **Note:**
>
> Privacy is reversible and deliberately separate from auto-disabling. A private
> account never has its failure counter touched and never needs re-enabling.

## Auto-disabled creators

If an account fails **5 consecutive** profile updates: usually because the handle was deleted or renamed: trackagoat automatically **auto-disables** it. A private account is never counted as a failure (see [Private accounts](#private-accounts)). An auto-disabled account stops being updated so quota isn't wasted on a handle that may be gone, and is shown with an **Auto-Disabled** badge.

You can review auto-disabled creators on the **Auto-Disabled Creators** page (reachable from the creators list filter) or via the Tracking Gaps / Update Failures watchlists on [Program Health](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/program-health.md).

To bring a creator back, an org admin clicks **Re-enable**. Re-enabling resets the failure counter and resumes updates. A **24-hour cooldown** applies per creator: if a creator was re-enabled within the last 24 hours, you'll need to wait before re-enabling again. You can re-enable creators individually or in bulk.

> **Note:**
>
> If the handle changed, update it before re-enabling: otherwise the creator will simply fail again and be auto-disabled.

Auto-disabling is done by trackagoat and is separate from deactivating, which an org admin chooses. See [Deactivating creators and accounts](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/deactivating.md).

## When a creator changes their handle

TikTok and Instagram give every account a permanent user ID that stays the same when the handle changes. trackagoat records it the first time it reads an account's profile, and uses it to follow a creator through a rename:

- If an update finds one of the account's posts now listed under a new handle by the same user, the account is renamed to the new handle. Its posts, history, goals and payouts stay where they are, it is re-enabled if it had been auto-disabled, and the creator's History shows **handle changed** (detected automatically).
- If you add the new handle as a separate account before that happens, trackagoat notices that both handles belong to the same user and flags it to our team, who merge the two accounts so the creator's posts and payout history are back in one place. Nothing is merged without review.
- If an old handle is taken over by someone else, trackagoat does not copy the new owner's stats onto the account. It is treated as a failed update instead, and the account is auto-disabled after 5 of them if no rename is found.

To fix a rename yourself, edit the handle on the account page instead of adding the new handle as a new account or creator.

## Deactivating a creator or account

Org admins can **deactivate** a creator, or just one of their accounts, to pause it without removing it. trackagoat stops looking for new posts and updating the profile, and hides it from your active lists, but keeps its goals, payout assignments and campaigns. You choose whether its videos keep updating, freeze with their current numbers, or stop counting, and, if the creator has payout structures assigned, whether their payouts pause or keep running. Deactivated accounts don't count toward your plan's account limit. Reactivate it at any time, as long as you have room under the limit. See [Deactivating creators and accounts](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/deactivating.md).

## Removing a creator

> **Warning: Soft delete**
>
> Org admins can remove a creator from a project with **Delete Creator** in the creator page's **More options** menu, or **Delete** on the Creators list (select several to remove them together). This is a **soft delete**: stats history is preserved and the creator's handles can be added again later. The creator's accounts are removed with it, so they stop being scraped and free their slots in your account limit (`max_accounts_per_org`) straight away. Other members don't see these controls.

## Related

- [Instagram](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/instagram.md)
- [Videos](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/videos.md)
- [Inbox: approving posts](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/inbox.md)
- [Data freshness and scraping](https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/scraping.md)

---
Source: https://www.trackagoat.com/docs/guides/accounts