If you’ve searched for videos, sounds, users, hashtags, or anything else on TikTok and then deleted that history, it may seem like it’s gone forever. But there are a few different methods you can use to recover and view your deleted TikTok search history.
Why Would You Want to See Deleted Searches?
There are a few main reasons why someone might want to retrieve their deleted TikTok search history:
- To find a video, sound, or user you had previously searched for but can no longer remember details about
- To see what types of content you were viewing or interested in at a certain time
- If you accidentally deleted search history you wanted to keep
- To review search history that was automatically deleted by the app after a certain time period
- Parental monitoring reasons – parents wanting to see what their child has been searching for and interacting with on TikTok
Being able to access deleted searches can be useful for finding content again or just seeing what your past TikTok interests and activities were.
Viewing Your Search History on TikTok
When you perform a search on TikTok, it gets added to your search history within the app. You can view this history by tapping on the search bar at the top of the screen – a list of recent searches will appear below the search bar.
However, this search history list is temporary. TikTok will automatically delete old searches after a certain period of time (around 15 days). So any searches older than that will no longer show up here.
You can also manually delete specific searches or your entire search history using the “Edit” or “Clear All” options.
How Deleted TikTok Searches Can Be Recovered
Even if you’ve manually deleted your TikTok search history or searches have been automatically removed after 15 days, there are still a couple ways the data may be recovered:
On Your Device
The TikTok app saves some usage data and search history on your device. So for searches done fairly recently, you may be able to find records of them in your device files or backups:
- On iOS: Check the TikTok app documents in your iCloud backup or iTunes backup.
- On Android: The search history may be retained in the app data files or external SD card backup if you have one.
To access this information, you would need to use a file explorer or data recovery tool for your specific device platform.
Your TikTok Account Data
TikTok also records information about your account usage and activity on their servers. You can request a copy of your personal data from TikTok, which may include your past search history.
Here’s how to do this:
- Go to TikTok’s Privacy Policy page and look for the “Your rights and choices” section.
- Click on the “EU User Rights Requests” link.
- Select the “Access My Data” option.
- Log in with your TikTok account info and submit the request form.
It can take up to 30 days for TikTok to compile and send you the data archive containing your information. When you receive it, look in the json files for any search history data that may be retained.
Using Third-Party Tools to View Deleted TikTok Searches
In addition to checking your own device and TikTok account data, there are some third-party tools and apps that claim to help you recover and view deleted TikTok search history.
Some examples include:
- FoneTracker: Phone monitoring app that can show TikTok search history along with other activities.
- iMyFone TikTok Recovery: Software to scan your iOS device and find deleted TikTok data.
- dr.fone: Phone data recovery suite that can restore app data from Android backups.
The capabilities of these types of tools can vary, and you often have to pay for the full versions. Make sure to research reviews and credibility carefully before downloading anything. Use caution sharing personal account info with third-party services as well.
Avoiding Deleted Searches in the First Place
To make sure you don’t lose track of searches, there are a few options to save or record them ongoing:
- Screenshot searches – Take screenshots of important searches you want to keep.
- Note/copy searches – Manually note down or copy-paste searches to save elsewhere.
- Use TikTok search history bookmarks – Bookmark searches you want to save by tapping the bookmark icon.
Bookmarking searches keeps them conveniently available in your account even after getting automatically deleted from main history. Enabling push notifications for bookmarked searches can also help you re-find videos.
You can also consider limiting your privacy settings for what data TikTok can collect and retain. This will reduce how much search history is available through your account data request.
In Conclusion
Recovering deleted TikTok searches is possible using the methods outlined, but results can vary. Your own device files and backups provide the most accessible options in many cases. Requesting your TikTok data may also provide search history if it was retained. And while third-party recovery apps require caution, they present additional possibilities.
Going forward, proactively saving, bookmarking or recording searches you want to keep access to can help avoid having to dig for deleted history. But now you know where to look if you do need to resurrect your past TikTok searches.
