TikTok is a popular social media platform focused on short-form mobile videos. It has over 1 billion monthly active users as of 2023, making it one of the most widely used apps globally (source). Users can create, view, and share 15-60 second videos on TikTok.
There are many reasons why TikTok users may want to delete a post they have shared. This includes if the post is embarrassing, no longer relevant, contains sensitive information they want removed, or they simply want to curate their profile. Privacy is a major concern on social platforms, so deleting old posts can give users more control over their digital footprint. Outdated videos that no longer fit a user’s brand or content focus may need to be removed as well. Overall, deleting TikTok posts allows users to maintain their desired image and presence on the platform.
Locate the Post You Want to Delete
To delete a post on TikTok, you first need to find the specific post you want to remove. Here are the steps to locate the post:
Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Your profile shows all the posts you’ve shared on TikTok.
Scroll through your profile page to find the post you want to delete. Your most recent posts are shown at the top, so you may need to scroll down to find an older post.
Tap on the post to open it. This will allow you to delete it.
If you’re having trouble finding the post you want to remove, try using the search bar at the top of your profile page. You can search for keywords, sounds, or hashtags used in the post.
You can also tap on the “Videos” tab on your profile to only see your video posts. This can make it easier to locate a specific video to delete.
Delete the Post
One of the easiest ways to delete a post on TikTok is directly from your profile. To do this, tap and hold on the post you want to remove. This will bring up a menu with options including ‘Delete’. Select the ‘Delete’ option to remove the post from your profile and TikTok1.
By tapping and holding on a post, you can quickly access the delete option without having to navigate through menus. Just tap, hold, and select ‘Delete’ to easily remove any post you no longer want on your profile.
Delete From Profile Page
You can delete a post directly from your TikTok profile page. To do this:
- Go to your profile page and tap the 3 dots on the post you want to delete.
- Select ‘Delete’ from the menu that pops up.
Tapping ‘Delete’ will immediately remove the post from your profile page and from visibility to other users. According to TikTok’s help center, “Once you delete a video, it cannot be retrieved” (source).
Remove From Favorites
To remove a video from your Favorites tab on TikTok, navigate to your profile page and tap on the heart icon (also called Likes) at the bottom. This will open your Favorites tab where you can see all the videos you’ve previously liked.
To remove an individual video, tap and hold on the video thumbnail until a menu pops up. From here, select “Remove from Favorites” to delete that video from your Favorites tab. You’ll see the heart icon on the video turn from red to white to indicate it’s been removed.
If you want to delete multiple or all Favorited videos at once, unfortunately TikTok does not have a “delete all” option. You will have to go through and individually remove videos from your Favorites. This can be tedious, but it’s currently the only method available.
Some users have reported a bug where videos don’t properly get removed from Favorites using the above method. If you are having trouble removing a video from your Favorites, try closing the app completely and reopening. This may fix any bugs that are preventing videos from being deleted.
Delete Comments
You can delete comments you’ve made on other people’s TikTok posts by following these steps:
Go to the specific TikTok post that contains the comment you want to delete. Tap on the Comments icon below the video to open the comments.
Scroll through the comments and tap and hold on the comment made by your account that you want to remove. A pop-up will appear giving you the option to Delete Comment.
Tap Delete Comment to confirm deleting the comment. The comment will be removed from the post.
According to TikTok’s help center, “In the TikTok app, tap the Comments button on the side of the video. Press and hold on the comment you want to delete. Tap Delete.” (source)
Delete From Drafts
If you have a draft saved that you want to remove, you can easily delete it from your Drafts folder.
To delete a draft on TikTok:
- Go to your Drafts folder. This can be accessed by tapping on your profile icon in the bottom right corner, then tapping on “Drafts” at the top of your profile page.
- Once in your Drafts folder, swipe left on the draft you want to delete. This will reveal the “Delete” option.
- Tap on “Delete” to confirm removing the draft. According to WikiHow, this will immediately delete the draft from your Drafts folder and it cannot be recovered.
Deleting a draft removes it completely from your account. So only delete drafts that you’re sure you no longer need.
Restore a Deleted Post
If you accidentally delete a post on TikTok and change your mind shortly after, you may be able to restore it. Here’s how:
Go to your profile and tap the 3 dots in the top right. Select ‘Deleted content’ to view removed posts. This section shows your most recently deleted videos, captions, comments, and more. Tap ‘Restore’ next to a post to undo the deletion and make the content live on your profile again.
According to Dexerto, this restore option only works for a short time after deleting the post. If too much time has passed, the post will be permanently removed from TikTok’s servers and irrecoverable through the app.
Permanently Deleting Posts
When a TikTok post is deleted, it is not immediately wiped from existence. Deleted posts actually stay in TikTok’s system for 30 days before being permanently erased.
There is no way for users to permanently delete a post right away. The post must go through the 30 day waiting period before it is gone for good.
Even though deleted posts stay in TikTok’s system for a month, they are no longer public or discoverable during this time. Only the original poster can still view deleted posts for 30 days after removing them.
After the 30 day period, deleted TikTok posts are completely removed from TikTok’s servers and databases. There is no method to recover or view a post after the 30 days.
So in summary, users cannot instantly permamently erase a post, but must wait 30 days for TikTok to fully delete it from their systems.
Conclusion
To recap, the main ways to delete TikTok posts are:
- Delete directly from the post or profile page
- Remove from Favorites
- Delete comments
- Clear posts from Drafts
It’s important to remember that deleted posts can be restored within 30 days by contacting TikTok support. After 30 days, deletion is permanent.
Removing outdated or embarrassing content can have benefits like improving your profile and letting you start fresh with new, higher-quality posts. However, you don’t want to over-delete content as that could have negative effects.
Overall, with the ability to delete posts in a few quick steps, you have control over your TikTok profile. Just be thoughtful about which posts to remove and when.
