What Does #IYKYK Mean & How Do You Use It?

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Learn how to incorporate the trendy hashtag in your posts and texts

Co-authored by Dev Murphy, MA Reviewed by Candace Gasper

Last Updated: August 7, 2023 Fact Checked

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What does IYKYK mean?

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How to Use IYKYK

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IYKYK Origins

It’s suddenly popping up everywhere, from TikTok to Snapchat to your group chat: #IYKYK. You’re left sitting there going, “Huh??” What does this abbreviation stand for, and how do you use it? Keep reading: we’ve got everything you didn’t know you wanted to know about the hashtag #IYKYK, below!

Things You Should Know

IYKYK stands for “If you know, you know.”
Use #IYKYK in posts and texts to indicate you’re speaking to a specific group of people—like those who are part of an inside joke or involved in a certain hobby.
When you use #IYKYK, avoid giving away too much about the specific event, experience, or interest you’re referencing: the power of #IYKYK lies in its subtlety.

Section 1 of 3:

What does IYKYK mean?

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IYKYK stands for “If you know, you know.” It’s used on social media posts and in texts to indicate that the poster or texter is talking to a certain audience, and that only that audience will understand the reference they’re making. If you see “#IYKYK” in an Instagram caption or Snap and you don’t know what the post refers to, it’s safe to assume you’re not the target audience.^{[1]
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- IYKYK might be used to indicate you’re posting for a certain demographic, people with whom you shared an experience or attended an event, or friends with whom you share an inside joke.

Section 2 of 3:

How to Use IYKYK

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Use #IYKYK on posts that subtly allude to an event or inside joke. Say you were up all night singing Lana Del Rey karaoke with your best friends and having the time of your lives. Rather than record everything that happened in a social media post targeted only to a specific few people, you might write something that only hints at what happened—like, “LDR with the besties. IYKYK.” Or you might just post a photo of you in a flower crown with “#IYKYK” overlaying it.
- Part of the point of #IYKYK is to not waste energy explaining an experience or concept to people who won’t understand it or be invested in it, but part of it is also about maintaining an air of exclusivity and even a bit of mystery to create a FOMO among people who aren’t “in” on the reference.^{[2]
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- Therefore, it’s important not to share too much in an #IYKYK post, since that defeats the purpose.
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Post #IYKYK to connect with people who share your specific interest. #IYKYK is sometimes used to caption posts alluding to a certain interest or hobby shared by only a small number of people. For example, if you grew up watching Lizzie McGuire, you would understand @drakeporter33’s tweet depicting a photo of Lizzie’s sidekick Gordo with the caption “King simp #iykyk.”^{[3]
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- Not all #IYKYK posts need to be mysterious—after all, lots of people know what Lizzie McGuire is even if they never watched it. But #IYKYK is a signifier that you belong among a group of people, connected by a love of or interest in a certain thing.
You might use #IYKYK to connect with people who share your specific lifestyle or lived experience. For example, if you were a college student during lockdown, you might tweet something like, “Meeting my cohort in person for the first time…at graduation. #IYKYK.” Others in your same position will understand not only what your post means, but how it feels to have that experience.
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Text friends IYKYK to remind them of a special experience you shared. After spending a ski weekend in Aspen with your besties, send a direct text or DM to those friends with "IYKYK" paired with a photo of the slopes, a video of one of you repeatedly failing to gracefully exit the lift—anything that alludes to your fun time together. The intention of texting IYKYK directly to friends who are already "in" on the reference is less about creating an air of exclusivity and more about emphasizing to them that you've shared an exclusive experience.
- You might also send IYKYK to a group chat consisting of a mixture of friends who are "in the know" and friends who aren't. It'll highlight the specialness of your experience to those who shared it, while also making the friends who weren't there wish they were.

Section 3 of 3:

IYKYK Origins

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IYKYK was first used in 2016 but took off in 2020 thanks to TikTok. IYKYK first appeared on Urban Dictionary in 2016 grew in popularity thanks to Pusha T’s 2018 song “If You Know You Know.” However, the term became more widespread in 2020 thanks to a TikTok trend in which users posted videos intended for specific audiences captioned with “IYKYK.”^{[4]
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- The trend involves users creating videos indirectly alluding to a specific feeling, event, or experience captioned with "IYKYK." Users who understand the reference or who relate to the feeling portrayed may feel a connection to the user or feel "seen" by the video.^{[5]
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- The videos' content may be serious in nature (for instance, sad music and footage of the user lying in bed might be a subtle allusion to depression) or more superficial (such as a video alluding to a specific celebrity or TV show).
- The TikTok trend cultivated connection among users (many of whom were reliant on social media for connection during the pandemic) by referencing obscure events or experiences that only a handful of users would understand or relate to.