With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms for sharing short videos. Like other social media sites, TikTok tracks user data and watch history to recommend content and target ads. While this watch history personalizes the TikTok experience, some users want to remove their viewing history for privacy reasons or to see different content.
If you want to remove your TikTok watch history, there are a few methods you can use: deleting your account, clearing your watch history, or enabling privacy settings. Read on to learn how to remove your TikTok watch history using the TikTok app and website.
Why Remove TikTok Watch History
Here are some of the main reasons TikTok users may want to delete their watch history and video views:
- Privacy concerns – To prevent TikTok from collecting data on your interests and usage
- See fresh content – Clearing history resets video recommendations so you see different content
- Hide embarrassing videos – Delete any cringe-worthy videos you regret watching
- Data storage – Reduce the amount of data TikTok stores on you
- Troubleshooting issues – May resolve glitches caused by corrupted watch history
Removing your TikTok watch history gives you more control over your privacy and the content the algorithm recommends to you. It’s a good option if you feel like you’re stuck in a loop watching similar videos over and over.
How to Clear Watch History on TikTok App
If you want to remove your TikTok viewing history using the TikTok mobile app, here are the steps:
- Open the latest version of the TikTok app on your iOS or Android device
- Tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner
- Go to the Settings & privacy page using the icon in the top right
- Select “Clear watch history” – this removes your entire watch history
- Tap “Confirm” to verify you want to permanently delete your TikTok watch history
Clearing your watch history on the TikTok app will reset your For You feed and remove any impact your prior views had on the recommendation algorithm. This can help surface new content and break out of repetitive video loops.
Keep in mind this only deletes your TikTok watch history – it doesn’t delete your search history, comments, likes, profile info or other data. Also, pausing watch history in your TikTok settings does not delete your existing history.
How to Delete Watch History on TikTok Website
Don’t have the TikTok app? You can also remove your TikTok watch history using the TikTok website:
- Go to TikTok.com and log into your account
- Click on your profile picture at the top right and select “Settings”
- Click “Privacy and safety” on the left side menu
- Scroll down and select “Delete watch history”
- Click “Permanently delete” to confirm clearing your watch history
Using the TikTok website gives you the same result as the mobile app – your entire TikTok watch history is erased. This gives you a fresh start on video recommendations.
Turn Off Watch History on TikTok
Rather than deleting your watch history, you can stop TikTok from tracking your viewing activity altogether by turning off watch history. Here’s how:
- Open TikTok and go to your profile
- Tap the three-line menu button and choose “Settings & privacy”
- Select “Watch history”
- Toggle the switch off for “Watch history”
With watch history off, your existing history is not deleted, but TikTok will stop adding new videos you view to your history. This prevents further tracking while keeping your past history intact.
Disabling watch history means TikTok won’t use your viewing behavior to recommend new videos. So you may see less relevant content, but gain more privacy.
Does Deactivating TikTok Delete Watch History?
If you temporarily deactivate your TikTok account, your watch history is not automatically erased. Deactivating pauses your account, but does not delete any data.
To remove your watch history when deactivating your account:
- Clear your watch history using the steps above
- Then go to your profile and select “Temporarily disable account”
This will first wipe your watch history before deactivating your account. When you reactivate your account, your watch history will remain blank.
Does Deleting TikTok Delete Watch History?
Yes, permanently deleting your TikTok account also erases your watch history along with the rest of your TikTok data. Here is how to delete your TikTok account:
- Open TikTok and go to your profile
- Tap the three-line menu button and select “Settings & privacy”
- Choose “Permanently delete account”
- Select “Permanently delete my account”
Once your TikTok account is fully deleted, your watch history, likes, comments, saved videos, and other data are all removed from TikTok’s servers. You cannot recover this information after deletion.
Does Deleting the App Remove TikTok Watch History?
Unfortunately, uninstalling the TikTok app from your device does not automatically erase your TikTok watch history or account data. This is because your information is stored remotely on TikTok’s servers.
To fully delete your watch history when removing the app:
- Open TikTok and clear your watch history before uninstalling
- Delete the TikTok app from your device
Your watch history will remain cleared even when you reinstall TikTok later. So be sure to wipe your history first before deleting the app.
How to Check TikTok Watch History
Want to see what videos are in your TikTok watch history before deleting it? Unfortunately there is no direct way to view your full watch history within the TikTok app.
However, you can get a general sense of what you’ve been viewing based on:
- Videos shown in your Following feed
- Recommended videos in your For You feed
- Search history (under Settings & privacy)
TikTok uses a combination of these inputs to determine the content in your watch history and recommend new videos. So browsing these areas can provide insight into your history.
How Long Does TikTok Keep Watch History?
TikTok does not provide specific details on how long they store watch history. However, from user reports it appears TikTok may keep watch history data for around 30-90 days.
Some key points about TikTok’s watch history retention:
- Watch history seems to expire after 1-3 months
- Less recent watch history may be deleted first
- Watch history needed for recommendations is likely kept longest
- Deleting history may immediately erase it from servers
If you want to remove old watch history that may still be stored, clearing your history is the best option. This instantly deletes the data from TikTok’s systems.
Does Pausing Watch History Delete Viewing Activity?
On TikTok, there is an option to “Pause watch history” in your account privacy settings. But it’s important to note this does not retroactively delete your existing watch history.
Pausing watch history stops TikTok from saving any new videos you view after that point. But your prior history remains unchanged.
To completely remove all watch history, you need to fully clear your history using the delete option. Pausing alone merely stops additional tracking.
Should You Delete TikTok Watch History?
Whether you should remove your TikTok watch history depends on your priorities:
- If you highly value privacy, deleting history prevents TikTok from storing your viewing data.
- If you want more relevant recommendations, keeping history may be beneficial.
- If your current recommendations feel stale, clearing history can help refresh your feed.
- If storage space is limited, removing history reduces TikTok data usage.
In most cases, periodically clearing your TikTok watch history, even every few months, is good to reset recommendations and protect privacy. But you can decide based on your own preferences.
Other Ways to Manage TikTok Privacy
In addition to removing watch history, here are some other privacy tips for TikTok:
- Make your account private so only approved followers see your content.
- Limit ad data collection in your account settings.
- Turn off personalized ads to reduce targeted marketing.
- Be cautious sharing personal info in your bio or videos.
- Use strong privacy settings on content you post.
- Delete old videos you no longer want public.
Combining these privacy practices with regularly clearing your TikTok watch history can help you securely manage your TikTok account and data.
The Bottom Line
Removing your TikTok watch history gives you control over the data TikTok collects about your viewing habits. Clearing your watch history is easy to do in just a few taps on mobile or desktop.
Deleting your watch history resets your video recommendations, so you can break out of repetitive loops. It also boosts privacy by preventing TikTok from tracking your interests based on videos you’ve watched.
Overall, regularly wiping your TikTok viewing activity allows you to maximize privacy while also surfacing new content. So if watch history removal fits your needs, use the steps in this guide to clear your TikTok video views.
