TikTok is a popular short-form video app where users can create, edit, and share 15-60 second videos. It has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users as of September 2021 according to Appinventiv. The app makes it easy for users to produce creative content and go viral.
However, sometimes users may accidentally delete a video they wanted to keep or change their mind after deletion. This article will provide instructions on the various methods of recovering deleted TikTok videos. Whether the deletion occurred recently or further in the past, there are steps users can take to attempt to restore their lost videos.
Why You Might Want to Recover a Deleted TikTok Video
There are a few key reasons why someone might want to recover a deleted TikTok video:
Sentimental value – Like any social media platform, TikTok allows people to share glimpses into their lives. Videos with sentimental value, like those featuring friends, family, pets, or important events, are often worth recovering if accidentally deleted.
Accidental deletion – It’s easy to accidentally delete a TikTok video by tapping the wrong button. Unintentionally deleting a video you wanted to keep is a common reason people attempt recovery.
Video went viral or had lots of views – If a deleted video gained significant traction and views, the creator likely wants to recover it to recapture that momentum and maintain the engagement. Recovering a viral video can allow the creator to capitalize on its initial success.
How TikTok Video Deletion Works
When you delete a video on TikTok, it does not get immediately and permanently erased. Instead, TikTok puts deleted videos into a pending deletion state for a certain timeframe before they are completely removed from their servers.
According to TikTok’s support page, when you delete a video it gets marked for deletion first. During this time, the video will not show up in your profile or be visible to other users. However, it can still be recovered if you change your mind.
After 30 days in the pending deletion state, the video will be permanently deleted by TikTok and irrecoverable through their platform. So you essentially have a 30 day window to restore a deleted TikTok video before it’s gone for good. This allows some time to undo accidental deletions or retrieve videos you regret erasing.
It’s important to note the timeframe – act fast if you need to recover a deleted TikTok video, as waiting longer decreases your chances of getting it back. Know how TikTok’s deletion process works to maximize your ability to rescue videos.
Recovering Videos Within 30 Days
If you accidentally deleted a TikTok video, you may be able to restore it as long as it has been less than 30 days since it was deleted. TikTok permanently deletes videos after 30 days, so you need to act fast to recover a deleted video from within the app.
Here are the steps to recover a recently deleted TikTok video within 30 days of deletion:
- Open the TikTok app and log into your account.
- Tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner.
- Go to the content tab and tap on “Deleted” at the top.
- This will show you a list of your recently deleted videos. Find the video you want to restore.
- Tap on the “Restore” button below the video thumbnail.
- The video will now be restored back to your account.
The sooner you attempt to restore your deleted TikTok video, the more likely you are to recover it successfully from TikTok’s servers. But remember, you only have a 30 day window before deleted videos are permanently removed.
Recovering Videos After 30 Days
After 30 days, deleted TikTok videos are permanently removed from TikTok’s servers and can no longer be recovered through the TikTok app. This is because TikTok only stores deleted videos for up to 30 days in its “Recently Deleted” folder before purging them from its systems.
However, there may still be ways to restore a deleted TikTok video after 30 days:
From Your Device’s Storage: If you had downloaded the video to your device before deleting it from TikTok, it’s possible the file still exists in your phone’s local storage or SD card. You can browse your device’s folders and search for .mp4 files to see if you can locate the deleted video.
From a Backup: If your phone was backed up to iCloud or Google Drive before the video was deleted, you may be able to restore the video file from the backup. This would involve restoring your phone to the backup state from before the deletion.
But if the video was never saved to your device or backup, and more than 30 days have passed, it is likely gone for good from TikTok’s systems and cannot be retrieved.
Restoring Deleted Videos from Your Device
If you had the “Save to device” setting enabled in the TikTok app, your deleted videos may still be cached locally on your device’s storage. Here are the steps to try and locate and restore deleted TikTok videos from your device:
On Android:
- Open the File Manager app on your device and navigate to the TikTok folder, usually found at Internal Storage/Android/data/com.zhiliaoapp.musically/cache.
- Locate video files with the .mp4 extension. These are your cached TikTok videos.
- Copy the videos you want to restore to another folder on your device storage or cloud storage.
- You can then upload the restored videos back to TikTok as new posts.
On iPhone:
- Connect your iPhone to a computer and open iTunes.
- Go to File Sharing > TikTok > Save to Computer to find and save cached video files.
- Locate .mp4 files, which are the cached TikTok videos.
- Save desired videos to your computer to restore them.
- Upload the video files back to TikTok as new posts.
Recovering videos from your device’s storage can restore deleted TikTok videos if they were cached before being deleted. But it’s limited as the videos may get automatically cleared over time. So restoring soon after deletion gives the best chance of finding your lost videos.
Restoring from a Backup
If you want to recover a deleted TikTok video and you’ve recently backed up your device, you may be able to restore it from the backup.
For iPhone users, this means restoring the video from an iTunes or iCloud backup of your device. Connect your iPhone to your computer and use iTunes to restore from a previous backup that contains the deleted video. Alternatively, you can restore from an iCloud backup in your iPhone’s Settings app.
For Android users, restoring a deleted TikTok video can be done by using your Google Drive backup or another full device backup that contains the video file. Go into your device’s Settings, find the appropriate backup service, and look for the date of the backup that contains the deleted video. Then, restore your device to that backup point.
The key is to act quickly before older backups containing the video get overwritten with newer data. As long as you can find a backup that was created before the video was deleted, restoring it should retrieve your lost TikTok video.
Using Third-Party Software
There are third-party software programs available that can scan your device to try to recover deleted TikTok videos.
These programs work by scanning your device’s storage for any residual data from deleted videos. Even if you can’t see the videos in your TikTok app anymore, parts of the video files may still be recoverable from your phone’s memory or cloud backups.
Some examples of TikTok video recovery software include:
- Tenorshare UltData – Scans Android and iOS devices and claims to recover deleted TikTok videos. Has a free trial version.
- iMyFone D-Back – Recovers deleted videos from iOS devices. Free trial available.
- Disk Drill – Recovers lost data from hard drives and mobile devices.
To use TikTok recovery software, first download and install the program on your computer. Connect your device to the computer if recovering from a phone. Then scan your device’s storage, select the deleted TikTok videos you want to restore, and recover them to your computer or device.
The recovery process can take some time depending on the app and amount of data. But specialized video recovery software maximizes your chances of getting back deleted TikToks compared to manual methods alone.
Preventing Accidental Deletion
It’s possible to take some steps to prevent accidentally deleting videos on TikTok. One option is to turn on the “Are you sure?” prompt in your account settings. This will make a confirmation pop up before deleting any video so you have a chance to cancel.
You can also favorite videos that you want to make sure you keep. According to the TikTok help center, favoriting a video prevents it from being deleted unless you specifically unfavorite it first (source).
Finally, regularly backing up your videos can help recover them if accidentally deleted. You can download your videos directly from TikTok to store elsewhere. There are also third party apps that can automatically back up your TikTok videos.
Conclusion
To recap, there are a few main ways to attempt recovering a deleted TikTok video. If the deletion occurred within the last 30 days, you may be able to restore the video directly through TikTok by contacting customer support. Beyond 30 days, your options are more limited, but you can try restoring the video from a backup on your device, iCloud or Google Photos, or using third-party data recovery software.
The easiest way to protect your videos going forward is enabling backups either through your phone’s settings or a separate app. You should also be cautious about what you delete and double check before confirming permanent deletion. Other precautionary measures include avoiding uninstalling the app while you still have videos you want to keep and logging out before lending your device to someone else.
In summary, recovering deleted TikTok videos is difficult but may be possible in some circumstances. The best approach is preventing accidental deletion in the first place by turning on backups and backups and being careful about what you delete.
