The short answer is yes, TikTok does keep track of your search history when you use the app. However, there are some nuances to how TikTok handles search data that are important to understand.
TikTok keeps your search history private by default
When you conduct searches within the TikTok app, that activity is logged and associated with your account. This allows TikTok to personalize your ‘For You’ feed and recommend content tailored to your interests.
However, your search history and activity on TikTok is private by default. This means that other users cannot see what videos, sounds, hashtags or accounts you have searched for.
TikTok states in their Privacy Policy: “The TikTok app does collect certain information about your activity in the app, including your search history and activity such as Likes, Shares, Comments, Saves, and more. However, most of this data is not public or displayed to other users.”
So you can rest assured that your searches on TikTok will not be visible to your friends, followers or anyone else on the platform. What you search for is between you and TikTok’s algorithms.
You can delete your TikTok search history
If you want to remove your search history from TikTok’s records, you do have that option.
In the TikTok app, go to your Profile page and tap on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner. Choose ‘Settings and privacy’ then select ‘Data privacy.’
On the Data privacy page, you will see options to ‘Delete search history’, ‘Delete watch history’ and other categories. Tap ‘Delete search history’ and confirm to wipe your search data.
Keep in mind this will only affect future personalization and won’t undo any impact your past searches already had. But it will prevent continued tracking if that is a concern for you.
TikTok suggests searches based on your activity
Even if you delete your search history, TikTok will continue to learn about your interests from your overall behavior in the app. This includes the videos you watch, accounts you follow, actions you take, device data and more.
As a result, TikTok will still be able to infer search terms you may be interested in and suggest those to you as you are searching. So don’t be surprised if you still see “tailored” results even after deleting your history.
Search data helps TikTok curate your ‘For You’ feed
One of the main reasons TikTok tracks your watch and search activity is to improve your personalized recommendations in the ‘For You’ feed.
By understanding the types of content and creators you engage with through your searches, TikTok can refine its suggestion algorithm to surface more videos that will appeal to your tastes.
So in many ways, letting TikTok learn your search preferences helps the app show you content you actually want to see versus random videos.
TikTok allows some search data to be public
While your personal search history is private, TikTok does make certain search data viewable by others.
For example, popular searches within the TikTok community during a given time period are listed on the Discover page. So you may see terms like #cooking, #dancechallenges, #books becoming trends.
This allows you to tap into viral content categories by viewing top searches. But your identity remains anonymous in these aggregate statistics.
Law enforcement or court orders can access search data
While TikTok keeps your searches private under normal circumstances, authorities and legal proceedings do have power to access detailed records if necessary.
TikTok’s Privacy Policy states they may retain or disclose user information to law enforcement agencies, public authorities, and courts upon valid legal process requests.
So in serious cases like criminal investigations, regulators or judges can compel TikTok to share a user’s search and activity history.
TikTok search history stays on company servers
Your TikTok search data and usage activity is stored on the company’s servers based in data centers around the world.
Even if you delete your search history or delete your TikTok account entirely, remnants of that data may remain in TikTok’s systems for some undetermined period of time.
The platform’s Privacy Policy does not guarantee complete removal of all user data upon account deletion. So traces of your search footprint may still exist on their servers.
You can use privacy settings to limit tracking
If you want to use TikTok but are uncomfortable with the app tracking your search behavior, there are some steps you can take.
Turning off Personalized Recommendations will remove the impact of your searches on the For You feed. TikTok also allows you to control data collection for ads and disable analytics tracking.
You can also use the Family Pairing feature to protect younger users’ privacy on a shared device.
While TikTok search history remains on their systems, leveraging privacy settings does limit data use and exposure.
In summary
TikTok does keep a private record of your searches within the app to personalize your experience. You can delete your search history but some data likely persists on TikTok’s servers.
While your search details stay anonymous to other users, legal authorities can potentially access that information. Managing your privacy settings is the best way to limit TikTok’s collection and use of search data.
