This article will cover everything you need to know about deleting TikTok videos after posting them. We’ll explain why you may want to remove a TikTok, how long videos stay up if you don’t delete them, and the options for deleting TikToks within 24 hours or after. We’ll also discuss the difference between a soft delete and a permanent delete, how to recover a deleted TikTok if you change your mind, and why the recovery process sometimes fails.
Deleting TikTok videos is a useful skill for managing your account and online presence. While TikToks aren’t meant to last forever, you may have regrets about posting certain content. This guide will walk through the steps to scrub videos from your profile when needed.
Why Delete a TikTok?
There are a few main reasons someone may want to delete a TikTok after posting it:
- Regret over posting something embarrassing or personal
- Wanting to remove content that received negative feedback or few views
- Privacy concerns if the video revealed too much personal information
- Deleting old videos to curate a more intentional, up-to-date profile
- Removing videos that violated TikTok’s community guidelines
In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to post something without thinking it through. But later on, TikTokers may regret sharing certain videos publicly and want a way to remove them. Deleting old videos can also help shape the kind of profile and brand someone wants to build on TikTok over time.
How Long Do TikToks Stay Up?
Unlike some other social media platforms like Instagram Stories, TikTok videos do not have an expiration date and will stay posted indefinitely unless the user actively deletes them. TikToks are permanently hosted on TikTok’s servers, and there is currently no limit to how long videos can remain on a user’s profile or the For You page 1. Once a TikTok is posted, it can continue generating views, likes, comments, and shares over time unless explicitly removed.
According to user reports, TikToks may remain publicly available for up to one year after being deleted 2. However, the longer a video has been live on the platform, the lower its visibility, as newer content takes priority in TikTok’s algorithm. But barring deletion, a TikTok could theoretically stay viewable indefinitely.
Deleting Within 24 Hours
If you delete a TikTok video within 24 hours of posting it, the video will be removed instantly and permanently from your profile and TikTok entirely. Once deleted within the first 24 hours, there is no way to recover or undo deleting the video.
When you delete a new video within the 24 hour window, it is a “hard delete”, meaning the video is erased from TikTok’s servers and cannot be resurfaced or reposted. This gives you a short window to quickly remove any videos you regret posting or that receive negative feedback.
Some key points on deleting within 24 hours:
- The video will vanish instantly from your profile and TikTok
- There is no way to recover a video deleted within 24 hours
- It is a “hard delete” – erased fully from TikTok’s servers
- Useful for quickly removing regretted or poorly-received videos
So if you want a posted TikTok to completely disappear, deleting it within the first day ensures it cannot be resurfaced or retained anywhere on TikTok.[1]
Deleting After 24 Hours
The process for deleting a TikTok video is different if it has been longer than 24 hours since the video was posted. Once 24 hours have passed, the video can no longer be deleted directly from the app. Instead, you’ll need to request deletion via TikTok’s support page:
1. Go to https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/feedback
2. Select “Report other issues” and then “Delete my video”
3. Enter the link to your video and select a reason for deleting
4. Complete the captcha and submit your request
TikTok notes that it can take up to 24 hours to process video deletion requests. So if it’s been over a day since you posted, you’ll have to be patient as your request makes its way through TikTok’s system.
The key difference is that deleting within 24 hours can be done instantly from the app, while after 24 hours you have to go through the external deletion request process. So if you want a video down quickly, act as soon as possible.
Soft Delete vs. Permanent Delete
When you delete a TikTok video, you have two options – soft delete or permanent delete. With a soft delete, the video is removed from public view but still exists in TikTok’s database. As this Reddit discussion explains, soft deletion removes access for users but keeps the data recoverable. TikTok stores soft deleted videos for 30 days in case you change your mind.
In contrast, a permanent delete completely removes the video from TikTok’s servers. As described on TikTok’s support page, there is no way to recover a video after permanent deletion. The content is gone forever. So soft delete just hides a video from public view temporarily while permanent delete erases it entirely.
The main difference is that a soft deleted video can potentially be recovered if done soon enough, while a permanently deleted video is erased completely with no way to get it back. So choose soft delete if you may want the video again later, but permanent delete if you are sure you want to erase the content forever.
Recovering a Deleted TikTok
It is possible to recover a deleted TikTok within 30 days through the “Delete History” section of your profile. To access Delete History:
- Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page.
- Tap on the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner.
- Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
- Go to the “Delete History” tab.
Here you will find a list of TikToks that have been deleted in the last 30 days. Simply tap on a video to recover it back to your profile. Keep in mind that the deleted video must have originally been posted within the last 30 days in order to be recoverable.
According to Dexerto, if more than 30 days have passed since the TikTok was deleted, there is unfortunately no way to recover it through the app. The video will be permanently removed from TikTok’s servers after 30 days.
Why Recovering May Fail
There are a few reasons why you may not be able to recover a deleted TikTok video:
The video was permanently deleted by TikTok. TikTok automatically permanently deletes videos after 30 days. Once a video is permanently deleted, there is no way to recover it.
Your device does not have a backup of the video. If the video was never backed up to your camera roll, iCloud, or other cloud storage, then there is no copy to restore from.
You deleted the video too long ago. As time passes, your chances of being able to recover a deleted video diminish. After a few weeks, it becomes very difficult.
You posted from an Android device. Unlike iOS, Android does not have a built-in recently deleted folder. You have to rely on a third-party app, which is less reliable.
The account that posted the video is deleted. If the entire TikTok account is deleted, the videos associated with it are also deleted and irrecoverable.
As you can see, if you want to recover a deleted TikTok video, it’s important to act quickly while there are still backups available. But even then, permanent deletion by TikTok after 30 days places a hard limit on your window to restore lost videos.
Deleting While Under Review
If a video you posted is placed under review by TikTok for violating community guidelines, deleting it may cause issues. According to TikTok’s Help Center, “If you delete appealed content that is under review, we may not be able to remove the violation from your account” (https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/account-safety).
Essentially, if you delete a video that is still under review, TikTok may keep the violation on your account even though the video is gone. This means you could still face consequences like having your account banned. One Reddit user reported getting permanently banned after deleting a video that was under review for just 5 minutes (https://www.reddit.com/r/Tiktokhelp/comments/mslnid/if_you_delete_a_tiktok_when_its_under_review/).
The safest option is to leave videos up while they are being reviewed. If you want to remove content that violates guidelines, it’s better to wait until after the review completes before deleting it. That way, TikTok can properly process any violations.
Conclusion
In summary, there are a few main methods to delete a TikTok video after posting:
– You can delete a video within 24 hours through the app which does a “soft delete”, hiding it from your profile but not fully removing it from TikTok’s servers.[1]
– After 24 hours, you’ll need to request deletion via TikTok’s support options for a full permanent delete.[2]
– If your video is under review, you cannot delete it until the review is complete, but can request deletion afterward.[3]
The main takeaways are act fast if you want an easy delete through the app, and otherwise you’ll have to go through TikTok support. Fully deleting videos permanently removes them, whereas soft deleting within 24 hours hides but doesn’t fully erase them.
