What is Search History on TikTok?
TikTok’s search history feature allows you to view your recent searches within the TikTok app. When you search for videos, sounds, hashtags, or users in the search bar, TikTok keeps track of your search terms for a period of time.
Accessing your search history can be useful for finding that video or sound you searched for previously but didn’t save. It also provides a glimpse into how you have interacted with and explored content on TikTok.
According to TikTok’s Privacy Policy, search queries are stored for up to 6 months. After that time, the terms are deleted from your account’s search history.1
Being able to revisit your past searches allows you to easily pick up where you left off discovering new content on TikTok.
Why Did My TikTok Search History Disappear?
There are a few common reasons your TikTok search history may have disappeared:
Logging Out of Your Account: When you log out of your TikTok account, your search history will be cleared. Logging back in will not restore it.
Deleting the App: If you delete the TikTok app from your device, your search history will be erased. Reinstalling TikTok will not bring back your past searches.
Getting a New Device: Your search history is tied to the specific device you use TikTok on. If you get a new phone or tablet, your old search history will not carry over.
Clearing App Data: On Android devices, clearing the TikTok app data and cache will wipe your search history. This cannot be undone.
Updating TikTok: Major app updates can sometimes reset your search history. There is no way to recover it after an update.
As you can see, there are a few common scenarios where your TikTok search history can disappear unintentionally. Unfortunately, once it’s gone, there is no native way within the app to recover or restore it.
Viewing Your Search History on iOS
You can easily view your recent TikTok search history on iOS devices like the iPhone or iPad. Here are the steps to find your search history in the TikTok app for iOS:
1. Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner.
2. From your profile screen, tap on the 3-line menu icon in the top right corner.
3. Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
4. Tap on “Content and activity”.
5. Select “Search history” to view your recent searches within the TikTok app.
This will display a chronological list of all the keywords, sounds, hashtags and users you have searched for in the past 30 days. You can tap on any search term to quickly perform that search again. The search history makes it easy to rediscover videos, creators and trends you’ve searched for previously on TikTok.
If for some reason your search history has disappeared in the app, it may have been automatically cleared after 30 days. TikTok deletes search history after 30 days as part of its privacy practices.
Viewing Search History on Android
To view your search history on the Android TikTok app, follow these steps:
- Open the TikTok app on your Android device.
- Tap on the search bar at the top of the screen.
- Your recent searches will appear below the search bar. Tap “View all” next to “Recent searches” to see your full search history.
- You can scroll through your recent searches in chronological order. This shows all searches you have made while logged into your TikTok account on that device.
TikTok will save your recent search terms for convenience, allowing you to easily search for similar content or re-find videos. However, there is no complete persistent search history you can export. If you want to save your search history, you’ll need to manually screenshot your recent searches.
Android TikTok app version 24.4.4 and above retains recent search history. If you cannot see your search history, ensure you have the latest app version. You can also try re-installing the app or logging out and back into your account.
For more details on searching within your history, clearing search records, or disabling search history tracking, keep reading this guide.
Searching Within Your History
If you want to find a specific video or account you previously searched for, you can search within your TikTok search history. Here’s how to do it:
On the TikTok app, tap the profile icon in the bottom right corner, then tap the three lines icon in the top right corner. This will open up your settings. Tap “Content and Activity,” then “Watch History.”
At the top of your watch history, there is a search bar. Type in keywords related to the video or account you are trying to find. For example, if you are looking for a cooking video you previously watched, you could search “cooking” or ingredients used in the video.
TikTok will return results from your watch history that match the search terms. Tap on a video to open it and confirm it is the one you were looking for. This is useful for rediscovering videos you want to watch again or share with friends.
You can also search for specific sounds or hashtags used in the video. Just enter # or keywords from the text overlays to locate a video.
If you don’t get the expected search results, try using different keywords or phrases related to the video content. The more unique the search query, the better chance of finding the exact video you previously watched.
According to this article, searching within your TikTok watch history allows you to rediscover videos much faster than endless scrolling through your full history. Use keyword searches to hone in on the clips you want to watch again.
Clearing Your Search History
If you want to manually clear your TikTok search history, the process is quick and easy. Here are the steps:
On iOS:
- Open the TikTok app and tap on the profile icon in the bottom right corner.
- Tap on the three lines in the top right corner to open the sidebar menu.
- Select “Settings and privacy”.
- Tap on “Clear cache”
- Tap on “Clear search history”
On Android:
- Open the TikTok app and tap on the profile icon in the bottom right corner.
- Tap on the three lines in the top right corner to open the sidebar menu.
- Select “Settings and privacy”.
- Tap on “Clear cache”
- Toggle on “Clear search history”
This will immediately wipe your TikTok search history. Keep in mind that this only clears your search history stored locally on your device. Your search history is also stored by TikTok on their servers.
To fully clear your TikTok search history from their systems, you will need to delete your TikTok account. Instructions can be found here.
Turning Off Search History
If you want to prevent TikTok from saving your search history in the first place, you can turn off the search history feature entirely. This will stop TikTok from keeping track of the keywords, sounds, hashtags, or users you search for. To disable search history:
On iOS devices, go to your profile page and tap the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner. Select ‘Settings and privacy’ then tap ‘Content preferences.’ Turn off ‘Save watch and search history.’
On Android devices, tap the profile icon in the bottom-right corner. Select ‘Settings and privacy’ then choose ‘Content preferences.’ Toggle off ‘Save watch and search history.’
With search history disabled, TikTok will no longer store your search information. You won’t be able to view past searches or delete individual search terms. This gives you full control over your search privacy.
According to https://screenrant.com/delete-tiktok-search-history-clear-tiktok-searches/, turning off search history is the easiest way to prevent TikTok from tracking your searches over time. Once disabled, the feature remains off unless you manually re-enable it.
Restoring Deleted Search History
If you’ve deleted your TikTok search history and want to restore it, there are a few options you can try:
One method is to download your TikTok data, which includes your past searches. To do this, go to your TikTok profile, tap the three dots in the top right corner, select “Privacy and settings”, then “Data and analytics”, and request your data. According to users on Reddit (source), your deleted search history should be included in the data TikTok provides.
You can also try using third-party mobile data recovery apps to restore deleted TikTok data from your device. According to AirDroid (source), apps like iMyFone D-Back or EaseUS MobiSaver for iOS, and DiskDigger or EaseUS MobiSaver for Android, may allow you to recover deleted search history.
Overall, while TikTok does not have a native option to restore deleted search history, requesting your TikTok data or using a data recovery app can potentially help you recover and view searches you’ve removed.
Search History and Privacy
Some users may have concerns about TikTok saving their search history and what it means for their privacy. According to TikTok’s Privacy Policy, TikTok does collect information about users’ searches on the platform. This is done to provide more personalized recommendations and improve the TikTok experience.
However, users do have some control over their search history privacy. By default, search history is saved, but it can be cleared or turned off completely in the app’s settings. TikTok also states that they anonymize and aggregate data after six months. So individual searches are not attributed to specific users in the long term.
Users who want more privacy can turn off search history, clear it regularly, or avoid sensitive searches on TikTok. Overall, while TikTok does save search data, they claim to protect privacy by anonymizing data over time. But users concerned about privacy can take proactive steps to limit collection of search history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about TikTok search history:
How far back can I see my TikTok search history?
On iOS, you can see your TikTok search history for the past 7 days. On Android, you can see your full search history for as long as you’ve had your account 1.
Why did my TikTok search history disappear?
Your search history may disappear if you cleared your TikTok cache or data, turned off search history saving, deleted and reinstalled the app, or got a new device. TikTok also occasionally resets search histories 2.
Can I recover my deleted TikTok search history?
Unfortunately, there is no official way to recover deleted TikTok search history. However, some third-party apps claim to be able to extract and recover your old TikTok data.
Does TikTok save my search history forever?
No, TikTok does not save your search history forever. On iOS, only the last 7 days are stored. On Android, your search history will be deleted if you uninstall the app or clear the data.
Is my TikTok search history private?
Yes, your TikTok search history is private and is not visible to anyone else. Only you can access your own search history.