TikTok has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming one of the most widely used social media platforms. With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok hosts a massive amount of video content uploaded every day.
However, many TikTok users end up deleting videos that they later wish they could get back. According to a recent study, over 50% of social media users have regretted posting something online [1]. On TikTok specifically, users may delete videos if they don’t get enough views or likes initially. Or, they may delete videos impulsively, only to later wish they could recover them.
This article will explore whether it’s possible to find and recover deleted TikTok videos. We’ll go over different methods you can try to locate deleted TikToks, as well as some reasons why you may want to retrieve a video you deleted.
Why Do People Want to Find Deleted TikToks?
There are a few common reasons why people want to find and recover deleted TikTok videos:
Nostalgia for old videos – Many TikTok users have been on the platform for years and have amassed a huge collection of old videos. When those get deleted, either by accident or on purpose, users often want a way to recover them for the memories and nostalgia.
Finding videos from friends/relatives – If a friend or family member deleted their TikTok account, people may want to find a way to retrieve some of their favorite videos from that person. This is especially common if the videos held sentimental value.
Retrieving embarrassing or controversial videos – Sometimes users delete videos that they later regret removing. This could be embarrassing videos they posted when they were younger. Or controversial videos that got backlash. People may want to find these again for any number of reasons.
According to one Quora post, the most common reason for TikTok removing videos is minor violations of safety guidelines. Users likely want to recover these types of erroneously deleted videos.
Is It Possible to Recover a Deleted TikTok Video?
Unfortunately, directly recovering a deleted TikTok video is very difficult. Once a video is deleted from the app, TikTok removes it from their servers and it can no longer be retrieved through the platform. However, there are some limited options that may allow you to find copies of a deleted TikTok video in certain circumstances.
TikTok does not provide any official ways to recover deleted videos through their app or website. The platform’s Terms of Service state that TikTok has the right to permanently delete content at any time without the ability to get it back. According to a TikTok spokesperson, “once deleted by a user, a video is permanently removed from our servers and can’t be retrieved” (source).
So while there is no direct method to restore deleted TikTok videos, some users have found alternative methods to locate copies of their lost videos. This includes checking sites that archive TikTok content, using Google searches to find if others reposted the video, or trying data recovery tools if the video was originally recorded on your device. But overall, recovering a deleted TikTok remains very unlikely.
Searching on TikTok
Once a TikTok video is deleted, it no longer appears in search results on the TikTok platform itself. This means searching directly on TikTok will not allow you to find deleted videos.
TikTok removes deleted videos from their database, so there is no way to search and find them again within the app or on TikTok’s website. The content is erased from TikTok’s servers.
Some users think searching hashtags or keywords related to a deleted video may turn up results. However, this is not the case. The video is completely removed from TikTok’s internal search index once deleted.
So if you’re wondering “can I find a deleted TikTok by searching the app?” – unfortunately the answer is no. The platform is designed so that deleted content cannot be found via searching TikTok itself.
Checking Other Platforms
Even if a TikTok video is deleted from the original user’s account, it may still exist if someone else has reposted or downloaded it and uploaded it to another platform. One option is to check on other major social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to see if the video has been shared there.
Do targeted searches on these platforms using keywords, hashtags, or descriptions related to the deleted TikTok video. The same clip, often without edits, may have been reposted natively or screen recorded and uploaded by another user. YouTube in particular tends to have many reuploads of popular TikToks.
The video may also be findable on niche meme or video sharing sites. There are many places it could have spread across the internet, so widening your search to include alternative platforms beyond just TikTok can increase your chances of rediscovering a deleted video.
Using Google Search
One method you can try is searching for the deleted TikTok video on Google. Even if the original video is gone, someone may have reuploaded or shared it elsewhere. Google search can help surface these copies.
Try searching for unique titles or audio from the video. If it was a lip-sync or used a popular sound, finding it will be difficult. But if the TikTok had a unique title or original audio, those keywords could lead you to reuploads.
You can also check Google’s cached copies and previews of old webpages. Google caches snapshots of sites which may include embedded videos or previews even after the original page has been deleted or modified.
While finding deleted TikToks on Google takes some luck and the right search approach, it provides another option to potentially recover removed videos.
Third-Party TikTok Archives
Some third-party websites and services claim to archive TikTok videos, allowing you to potentially find deleted content. One example is TikTokTraphouse, which states that it archives over 100 million TikTok videos per day.
However, the reliability of these third-party archives can be questionable. Sites like TikTokTraphouse likely do not have authorization from TikTok to archive content at such a large scale. There are also risks in visiting unverified third-party sites, such as malware. Additionally, the archived videos may not be available indefinitely, as the sites could be subject to legal takedown requests.
In summary, while third-party TikTok archives may allow you to find some deleted videos, they come with certain risks and uncertainties. Proceed with caution and skepticism when using such services.
Recovering Data from Your Device
One way to potentially find deleted TikTok videos is by trying to recover the cached data from your device. Shortly after a TikTok is deleted, the data may still be stored locally on your phone before it gets fully cleared from the cache.
There are third-party apps like iExplorer that can scan your iPhone and find cached TikTok data that the app has stored. This data can potentially include videos that were recently deleted.
The key is to act quickly and use a data recovery app soon after the TikTok was deleted. The longer you wait, the less likely the video will still be stored locally on your device before the cache gets cleared out.
Data recovery apps look for cached and deleted data that may not have been fully removed yet. So they can be one option if you recently deleted a TikTok video that you wanted to recover.
Contacting TikTok
One option to try to recover deleted TikTok videos is to directly contact TikTok and request your account data. TikTok allows users to download a copy of the data associated with their account, including videos, messages, profile info, and more, by submitting a data request.
However, according to TikTok’s privacy policy, any videos that have been deleted from your account will not be included in the data they provide. The downloaded data only includes information that is currently associated with your account at the time of the request. So unfortunately, contacting TikTok directly is unlikely to help recover deleted videos.
While users can request their TikTok data, the provided information is limited to what still exists in their account and does not include content that has been removed or deleted by the user. So this method will likely not lead to recovering deleted TikTok videos.
Conclusion
As the above sections laid out, there are limited options for recovering deleted TikTok videos. The TikTok app and website do not have built-in features for finding deleted videos. Searching on Google or third-party TikTok archives may turn up some deleted videos if they were reposted elsewhere before being taken down. However, for most deleted TikToks, the chances of finding them again are very low. The best option is trying to recover a deleted video from your own device if you had previously saved or downloaded it.
In summary, while it’s sometimes possible to find deleted TikTok videos, the platform is designed for ephemeral content that disappears. If a video is removed from TikTok itself, as well as third-party sites and archives, it’s likely gone for good. Users should be mindful of this when creating and posting videos. If you want to preserve a TikTok long-term, make sure to download it or back it up externally. Otherwise, once it’s deleted, consider it permanently erased.
