If you’ve been using TikTok for a while, chances are your search history contains terms or videos you may not want others to see. The good news is there are a few different ways to clear your TikTok search history so it’s gone for good.
Quick Answer
Yes, you can permanently delete your TikTok search history. The easiest way is to go to your account settings and tap “Clear search history”. This will wipe your entire search history clean. You can also delete individual searches one by one if you prefer. Clearing your search history is permanent and cannot be undone.
Clearing All Search History at Once
The quickest way to delete your entire TikTok search history is to use the “Clear search history” option in your account settings:
- Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page
- Tap the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner
- Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu
- Go to the “Clear cache” section
- Tap on “Clear search history”
This will immediately and permanently erase your full search history all at once. The process is irreversible – once your search history is cleared this way, there is no retrieving it.
The “Clear search history” option is the fastest and most thorough way to delete your TikTok search data. With just a few taps, your entire history is wiped clean.
Manually Deleting Individual Searches
If you only want to remove specific searches instead of clearing everything, you can also delete searches one by one manually.
To do this:
- Go to the search tab in the TikTok app
- Tap on the search bar at the top where you enter search terms
- You will see a list of your recent searches – tap the “X” icon next to any search term to delete it
Doing this will immediately and permanently remove that search query from your history. Repeat the process for any other individual searches you want to delete.
This method allows you to selectively remove certain searches while leaving others intact. It takes more time and effort than clearing your full history, but gives you more control.
Turning Off Search History
If you want to prevent TikTok from saving your search history at all going forward, you can turn the search history setting off completely:
- Open your profile and go to Settings > Privacy
- Toggle off “Save search history”
With search history disabled here, TikTok will no longer keep track of your search terms. However, this will not delete any existing history – you’ll need to also clear your current history using the steps above if you want it gone.
Deleting TikTok Account Entirely
The most nuclear option is deleting your TikTok account altogether. When you delete your account, all data associated with it including search history is erased:
- Go to your profile > Settings > Manage account > Delete account
- Select “Permanently delete my account”
Once your account is deleted, your search history and all other account data is permanently removed from TikTok’s servers and cannot be recovered. However, this also means you lose access to your account and all of your followers, likes, videos, etc. Definitely don’t delete your account solely to erase search history unless you’re prepared to permanently close your TikTok presence.
Does TikTok Save Deleted Search History?
No, when you clear your TikTok search history using the steps above, it is permanently deleted from TikTok’s servers. Their systems are designed to remove deleted search data so it cannot be accessed again later.
Clearing your history through the app settings, deleting individual searches, or deleting your account all trigger an irreversible removal of that search data from TikTok’s backend. Once history is cleared or deleted, it is gone for good.
Can Anyone See My TikTok Search History?
By default, your TikTok search history is private and cannot be seen by anyone else using the platform. The only person who can access your search history is you when logged into your account.
TikTok does use search data internally for things like personalized recommendations and advertising purposes. However, they do not show or share individual users’ search histories publicly or with other users.
So unless you intentionally show someone your own search history, it remains private to your account. Clearing your history can provide extra peace of mind that others won’t find it.
Does TikTok Search History Transfer Between Devices?
Yes, your TikTok search history is tied to your account rather than a specific device. Searches you perform in the TikTok app on one phone or tablet can show up in your history when you log in on another device.
That’s why clearing your search history with the steps above will apply across any device where you use TikTok with that account. The history is deleted from your account profile, not just a single app install.
So even if you switch phones, your search history follows your account. Be sure to delete searches on all devices linked to your TikTok account if you want them fully gone.
How Far Back Does TikTok Search History Go?
TikTok stores up to 6 months worth of search history tied to your account profile. Any searches older than 6 months eventually get automatically deleted from their systems.
So if you want to delete searches from the maximum timeframe, clearing your history will wipe the entirety of your available search data from the past 6 months.
For even older searches beyond the 6 month retention period, those are already long gone from TikTok’s servers so don’t have to be manually deleted.
Does TikTok Show Deleted Searches to Other Users?
No, TikTok does not make your deleted searches visible to anyone else. When you clear your search history, those searches are removed from TikTok’s systems entirely and are not shown to other users or accounts at any point.
The only way someone could see a deleted search from your history is if they had directly accessed your account and viewed the search before it was deleted. But past searches aren’t visible to other users without account access.
So you can rest assured that once you delete a search, it’s gone for good and not being displayed or resurfaced on anyone else’s feeds or recommendations after removal.
Is Clearing TikTok Search History Enough to Protect Privacy?
Clearing your search history is a good first step for maintaining privacy on TikTok and removing any searches you want kept private. However, keep in mind TikTok collects other user data for advertising purposes beyond just search terms.
To limit data collection, also consider turning off TikTok’s personalized ads setting, restricting app permissions, and enabling enhanced privacy modes like limiting past data access. Combined with clearing history, these provide a more comprehensive privacy protection approach.
What’s the Easiest Method to Delete TikTok History?
The easiest and quickest way to permanently erase your entire TikTok search history is using the “Clear search history” button in your account privacy settings. With a few quick taps, your full history is deleted.
Manually removing searches or deleting your account take more time and effort. So for a fast and thorough deletion of your full history, the “Clear search history” option is the most direct approach.
Can I Delete History on TikTok Website Instead of App?
Currently, TikTok does not provide a way to view or manage your search history data through their website. The only way to clear search history is via the TikTok mobile app.
On the website, you can modify some privacy settings like ad personalization. But directly accessing and deleting search history itself is not possible on the TikTok website – you need to use the mobile app.
So if you primarily use TikTok via a web browser, you’ll need to temporarily access the mobile application in order to remove collected search terms from your account history.
What Happens When I Delete TikTok Account?
Deleting your TikTok account permanently erases all data associated with it, including:
- Your profile information
- Followers and following list
- Uploaded videos
- Liked videos
- Saved videos and sounds
- Comments and messages
- Full watch history
- Search history
Once your TikTok account is deleted, all of the above data is removed from their servers and cannot be recovered. Your profile, content and history will no longer be accessible.
So deleting your account entirely is the most complete way to erase all traces of your presence and activity on TikTok – but also means permanently closing your account.
What About TikTok Data Already Used for Advertising?
Even if you delete your search history and account, TikTok has likely already used collected data internally for advertising profiling and targeting purposes.
Clearing your history prevents future use of that specific data, but does not undo analytics and ad profiles TikTok has already built about your interests and habits using past data points.
To limit ongoing collection and use, adjust your TikTok ad personalization and data privacy settings. But historic data use cannot be undone after the fact by deleting searches or your account.
In Summary
- You can permanently erase your TikTok search history using the “Clear search history” option.
- Manually deleting searches one by one also removes them for good.
- Once search history is cleared, it cannot be recovered by TikTok.
- Your search history is private and not visible to other users.
- Clearing history provides additional privacy reassurance.
So in conclusion, yes – you can permanently remove your TikTok search history. Just be aware that clearing your history prevents future exposure of past searches, but does not undo any analytics and targeting TikTok has already performed using that historic data.