TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create and share short videos. As fun as it is to use TikTok, the app can take up a lot of storage space on your device over time. If you find your phone constantly running out of storage, TikTok videos may be the culprit. Here are some tips to free up storage space taken up by TikTok.
Delete Old Videos
The easiest way to free up TikTok storage is by deleting videos you no longer need. Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Tap on the three-line menu in the upper right corner and select “Manage my account.” On this page you will see options to “Manage videos” and “Manage drafts.” Tap each one to view and delete old videos and drafts.
When deciding which videos to delete, get rid of ones you are no longer proud of or don’t get many views. You can also sort videos by date and mass delete older videos. Remember that deleting a video from your TikTok account does not delete it from your device storage. So be sure to delete videos directly from your camera roll as well.
Remove Downloaded Videos
If you tend to download TikTok videos to your camera roll to save for later, these can also pile up and eat storage over time. Open your camera roll and search for the TikTok download folder. This is where all downloaded videos are saved by default. You can delete the entire TikTok download folder, or view videos one by one and delete any you no longer need.
To prevent downloading too many TikTok videos in the future, you can turn off auto-save in the app settings. Go to your profile, tap the three-line menu, and select “Settings and privacy.” Tap “Data saving” and toggle off “Auto-save videos.” This will stop TikTok from automatically saving videos to your camera roll.
Clear Cache and Data
The TikTok app stores cached data and images from videos you view in app. Over time, this cache can build up and take up significant storage space. Clearing the TikTok cache is an easy way to free up storage.
To clear the cache, go to your device Settings > Apps > TikTok. On this page tap “Storage” then tap “Clear Cache.” If your device is running Android 9 or lower, tap “Storage & Cache” instead. This will instantly clear stored cache from the app and recover storage.
You can also tap “Clear Data” to delete all data associated with the app, including login details. This essentially resets the app to its original state. Only use this option if you are comfortable logging into TikTok again.
Uninstall and Reinstall the App
If deleting videos, removing downloads, and clearing cache is not freeing up enough space, you can uninstall and reinstall TikTok altogether. This will completely remove the app and all of its data from your device storage.
First make sure any videos you want to keep have been saved elsewhere. Then go to Settings > Apps > TikTok and tap “Uninstall.” Once uninstalled, the TikTok folder will be removed from your storage. To get the app back, simply visit the app store and reinstall TikTok.
When you reinstall the app, log into your account again to access your profile and favorites. The videos you shot and uploaded will still be saved to your account. However, any videos downloaded to your device will be gone. So only use this method if you have saved videos elsewhere.
Adjust Video Upload Quality
If you’re always running low on space, you may want to adjust TikTok settings to upload lower quality videos that take up less storage. In the TikTok app, go to your profile and tap the three-line menu. Select “Settings and privacy.”
Tap “Data usage” and select either “Low quality” or “Medium quality” for uploads. The lower the video quality, the smaller the file size will be. This will prevent your future TikTok videos from taking up as much storage.
Keep in mind that lower quality videos may get compressed or lose some visual quality. Check how your videos look after changing the settings to make sure you’re okay with the tradeoff.
Use Phone Storage Settings
Some device storage settings can also help manage the amount of space TikTok takes up over time. On an Android phone, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced. Tap “App info” then tap TikTok. Tap “Storage” to manage the space allowed for the app and clear data.
On an iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone storage. This screen shows the storage usage of all apps on your device. Tap TikTok to see a breakdown of documents and data. You can delete app data directly from here.
You can also offload unused apps on iOS. Offloading removes the app from your device storage but keeps documents and data. To reinstall the app in the future, simply tap on it and your data will be there.
Use TikTok Lite App
If the main TikTok app is still taking up too much space, consider downloading TikTok Lite. This is a smaller version of the TikTok app designed for areas with limited internet connectivity and slower smartphones.
TikTok Lite takes up much less storage space on your device. The compromise is that video quality is limited to 480p and some features are missing. But you still get the core TikTok experience in a minimal app. If space is severely limited, TikTok Lite may be a better option.
Save to Cloud Storage
One way to avoid filling up your device storage with TikTok videos is to save them to cloud storage instead. Cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox give you online storage that won’t eat up your phone capacity.
You can download videos to upload to cloud storage rather than having them only on your phone. Or use the TikTok share function to save them directly. Tap the Share arrow on videos and select Dropbox or other linked cloud services.
With your videos saved to the cloud, you can delete them from your device camera roll to free up phone storage. But they’ll still be accessible in your cloud storage when needed.
Use a MicroSD Card
If your device supports external storage, a microSD card can help offload TikTok videos and data. Insert the memory card into your phone’s microSD slot, then go to device storage settings. You should see the card listed as portable or external storage.
Go into the TikTok app settings and select “Storage.” Change the download location to the microSD card. Now any downloaded videos or TikTok data will be stored on the external card instead of your device built-in storage.
Make sure you have enough total storage on the microSD card to handle what you will save to it. And back up any data on the card before designating it for TikTok storage.
Delete TikTok Account Entirely
If you no longer use TikTok, the nuclear option is to delete your TikTok account entirely. This will remove all videos, data, and your profile from existence. Obviously only take this step if you are done with TikTok for good.
In TikTok go to your profile and tap the three-line menu. Select “Manage account” then “Delete account.” Follow the on-screen prompts to permanently erase your account.
Once your account is deleted, uninstall TikTok from your device. This will remove any residual data left behind taking up storage. With no account and no app, your phone storage will be freed from TikTok’s grip.
Conclusion
TikTok can be a storage hog, but with some maintenance and adjustments you can reclaim that space for other uses. Regularly deleting old videos, limiting downloads, and offloading to cloud storage are handy tips. For more drastic measures, uninstall the app or delete your account entirely. With the right strategy, you can keep enjoying TikTok without sacrificing all your phone’s storage.