Anthony, who runs the TikTok account @undiagnosedanthony, has a clear idea about what counts as cheating. He says following a stranger on TikTok or Instagram, liking their posts, or hiding your phone from your partner all cross the line. In a video that drew 874 comments, he argues that these behaviors show someone is attracted to the person behind the profile.
His reasoning is simple: if you are following someone you do not personally know, what else could you be interested in besides their appearance? He applies the same logic to liking and commenting on a stranger’s posts, and to refusing to let a partner look through your phone.
The Behaviors He Flags
Anthony lists several behaviors he considers signs of infidelity. Here is how he ranks them:
- Following a stranger on TikTok or Instagram, which shows attraction to someone you do not know.
- Liking or commenting on a stranger’s posts, which he says can indicate attraction.
- Hiding your phone from your partner, which he views as a potential sign of infidelity rather than an issue of personal privacy.
He argues that each of these behaviors can be a red flag, even if none of them involve physical intimacy.
Commenters Split on the Rules
TikTok users did not agree with him. The debate was loud and personal, with commenters sharing their own stories of cheating and mistrust.
“You’re strict, I like it,” one person commented, praising his approach. “Lingering eyes drive me insane,” another wrote, agreeing with him on following strangers online. “If you’re doing something that you wouldn’t do right in front of your partner, that’s considered cheating imo,” another added, making the point that dishonesty is a line even if the behavior seems small.
Some commenters defended the behaviors he called cheating. One commenter wrote that the video “screams, insecurity.” Another argued that such boundaries are too strict, saying “None of these are cheating …” and questioning whether Anthony’s definition of cheating was too broad.
One commenter asked whether people should be barred from thinking someone else is good-looking. Another said that many healthy couples point out attractive people because some people are naturally beautiful. A third commenter questioned whether Anthony was watering down what “cheating” means by labeling a partner a cheater for following someone on TikTok.
What the Debate Shows
Anthony’s video is a mirror held up to a very specific kind of relationship anxiety. He is not talking about actual infidelity. He is talking about trust, privacy, and what it means to be transparent with someone you love.
The disagreement among commenters is telling. Some see these behaviors as red flags. Others see them as harmless or as signs of insecurity, not betrayal.
This is not a story about cheating in the usual sense. It is a story about what people expect from each other online, and how those expectations vary wildly from one couple to the next. Anthony’s position is extreme — following a stranger and liking their posts is cheating, at least in his view — but it is a position many people hold, even if they would not put it so plainly.
The video itself is a snapshot of a culture where social media has become a proxy for intimacy. People follow strangers for many reasons — they are funny, they are skilled, they are beautiful — and Anthony is saying that any of those reasons can be a problem if your partner does not know about it.
Whether you agree with him or not, the discussion he started is real. People are thinking about what they are willing to share with their partners, and what they are not. The debate is far from settled, and it likely will not be settled soon.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the context behind Anthony’s statements. The details in this article are based on @undiagnosedanthony’s TikTok video and the reactions and personal experiences shared by commenters.
Source material: “Man Says Following Strangers on Instagram or TikTok Is Cheating: ‘What Are You Following Someone for if You Don’t Know Them?’,” The Daily Dot.
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