TikTok custom audience file formatter: a customer file TikTok accepts
In short: Upload any contact export (.xlsx or CSV) or paste cells. Email and phone columns are found by header and written under TikTok's Email and Phone headers (or Email_SHA 256 and Phone_SHA 256), emails lower-cased and phones in E.164; repeats are removed, and the entry count is checked against TikTok's 1,000 minimum. Limit: Columns are found by header name; rename unusual headers to Email or Phone first.
A TikTok customer file is a CSV or TXT under 1 GB with a header row naming each identifier: Email or Email_SHA 256, and Phone or Phone_SHA 256. TikTok asks for emails with spaces removed and in lower case, phones in E.164, and at least 1,000 entries. Upload your export here and it writes that file, plain or SHA-256 hashed.
Price: this tool is free. Checking a whole email list is from $9/mo, and the first 100 checks are free with Google, no card. Check your list free nowSee pricing
Used only to complete phone numbers.
Sample result
Jane Doe becomes [email protected] and +14155550132 under Email and Phone; the repeat row is removed.
- Customer file
- 2 contacts
- Minimum
- 1,000 entries
- Headers
- Email, Phone
What this means for you
TikTok gets the headers it lists, lower-case emails and E.164 phones, with a warning if the file has fewer than 1,000 entries.
- Email and phone headers
- Lower-case emails, E.164 phones
- Repeats removed
- Plain or SHA-256
- TikTok
- Custom audience
- CSV
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
Dead addresses can't match a TikTok account. Check the list first.
- Export the email column from the list you just formatted.
- Upload or paste it at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, and the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card.
How do I prepare a CSV for a TikTok custom audience?
- Upload the contact export (.xlsx or CSV), or paste the cells with the header row first. Email and phone columns are found by their headers.
- Choose the country for phone numbers written without a + country code, and whether to include email, phone or both.
- Check the entry count against TikTok's 1,000 minimum, and tick SHA-256 if you want hashed values.
- Download the CSV and create a custom audience from a customer file in TikTok Ads Manager's Audiences section and upload it there.
Example
- You enter
- A sheet with Name, Email, Phone and Country:
Jane Doe,[email protected],(415) 555-0132,United States;Leoat[email protected]; a repeat row for[email protected]; and a row with no email or phone. - You get
- Two rows under Email and Phone:
[email protected],+14155550132and[email protected]. The repeat is removed, the empty row skipped, and a note says the file has 3 entries against TikTok's minimum of 1,000. - Limits
- Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Files up to 25 MB.
What does TikTok's customer file need?
TikTok's help pages ask for a CSV or TXT file under 1 GB with a header row describing each ID, at least 1,000 entries, and one line per ID. The accepted headers are Email or Email_SHA 256, and Phone or Phone_SHA 256. See how to create a custom audience with a customer file.
How are emails and phones cleaned?
Emails have spaces removed and are lower-cased. Phone numbers are written in E.164: a + then the country code and the number. The tool uses the country you pick for numbers written without a country code, and counts anything it can't read as a bad value instead of writing it.
Should I hash the file?
TikTok says that if the file holds original values it will be hashed automatically, and that hashed email and phone values must be SHA-256 (see the customer file guidelines). Hashing here is optional; if you do, the tool hashes the cleaned value and renames the headers.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Paid social marketers
- Turn a CRM export into a customer file TikTok Ads Manager accepts on the first upload.
- Ecommerce teams
- Build a retargeting or exclusion audience from a store's customer export.
- Agencies
- Prepare a client's list as SHA-256 values before it goes into the client's ad account.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- Columns are found by header name; rename unusual headers to Email or Phone first.
- Mobile advertising IDs (MAID) aren't written.
- TikTok's own minimum of matched users after processing isn't something a file can promise.
- Formatting can't make a closed or rarely used address match a TikTok account.
Common questions
- What headers does a TikTok customer file use?
- Email or Email_SHA 256 for emails, and Phone or Phone_SHA 256 for phone numbers. MAID headers are for mobile advertising IDs, which this tool doesn't write.
- How many entries does a TikTok customer file need?
- At least 1,000 entries. The tool shows your count and warns when the file is under that.
- How should phone numbers be formatted for TikTok?
- In E.164: a + then the country code and number, such as +14155550132.
- Does the file have to be hashed?
- No. TikTok hashes original values itself. If you hash first, use SHA-256 for email and phone.
- Is my customer list uploaded to SimpleVerifier?
- No. The file is read and formatted in your browser.
Sources
A tidy list can still be full of dead addresses.
Extracting, deduplicating and syntax checks all work on the text of an address. None of them can tell whether the mailbox exists. Only the server that hosts it can answer that, through an SMTP check, and that is what the paid product does.
- Upload the cleaned file as it is: CSVs up to 100,000 rows
- A real SMTP mailbox check on every row, with catch-all detection
- Small list? Starter at $9/mo covers 2,500 emails a month, cancel anytime
Plans from $9 a month, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.