What Does Downloading Your TikTok Data Do?
Downloading your TikTok data allows you to view and export all of your personal information and content from the app. This includes your profile info, settings, posted videos, messages, and more. It essentially gives you a copy of your entire TikTok account that you can access outside of the app.
Downloading your data also lets you see various usage statistics and engagement metrics from your TikTok account. This includes data like your total watch time, likes, comments, shares, follows and other interactions on your videos and profile. So it gives you an overview of your audience and how people have responded to your content on TikTok.
In summary, downloading your TikTok data gives you a comprehensive archive of your personal account information, content, and analytics from your time using the app. It allows you to access and export this data outside of TikTok for your own records.
Why Download Your TikTok Data?
There are several good reasons to download your personal data from TikTok:
You can review your personal usage and engagement over time by looking through your video viewing history, liked videos, comments, etc. Having this data allows you to reflect on how you’ve used the app and make changes if desired (1).
Downloading your data is also recommended if you plan to delete your TikTok account. This allows you to save copies of videos, messages, and other content you want to keep before your account and data are erased (2).
Additionally, downloading your data allows you to view what personal information TikTok has collected about you based on your usage. This includes data like advertisements shown, search history, location information, and more. Reviewing this can inform you about your privacy settings and TikTok’s data practices (3).
What Info is Included in Your TikTok Data?
When you download your data from TikTok, it will include a variety of information from your account. Some of the main categories of data included are:
Profile information – This includes your username, profile photo, bio, and any other public profile info.
All uploaded videos – Any videos you have posted on TikTok will be included in the downloaded data.
Draft videos – Any private draft videos that have not been posted will also be in the download.
Liked and favorited videos – Your download will contain a list of all the videos you have liked or added to your Favorites.
Comment history – All comments you have posted on videos will be in the data.
Messages – Your TikTok messages and chat history will be included.
Push notifications – Your download will show any push notifications you have received from TikTok.
Overall, the downloaded data provides a comprehensive look at your TikTok account activity and content.
How to Download Your TikTok Data
Downloading your TikTok data is a simple process that only takes a few steps:
First, open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon at the bottom right. Then tap on the menu icon in the top right corner and select “Settings and privacy”.
Next, select “Data and history” and then tap on “Request data”. You will then need to enter your email address and solve a captcha.
After submitting the request, you will receive an email from TikTok within 24 hours with a link to download your data as a .zip file (according to TikTok’s support page).
The download contains your profile info, videos, messages, login history, comments, liked videos and more. Make sure to download it within the time limit specified in the email.
What Are the Data Download Size Limits?
TikTok places some limits on how much data you can download:
- You can download up to 1 GB of video content you’ve posted
- Up to 25 MB of other data like messages, comments, captions etc.
- The data is limited to the last 30-90 days of your account activity
So while you can access a good amount of your recent TikTok data through the download, there are some size restrictions in place. The 1 GB video content limit allows you to get your most recent videos off TikTok if needed. And the 25MB cap for other data covers a fair amount of your recent activity with comments, likes, profile info etc. But TikTok does not provide indefinite storage of all your data. According to sources like https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-video-size/, data is stored for a limited window before being deleted.
Does Downloading Data Delete Your Account?
No, downloading your TikTok data does not delete your account or prevent you from continuing to use the app. The data download is simply a copy of the information associated with your account. According to TikTok’s Help Center, “Requesting your data won’t close your account.” You can request your data and proceed to use TikTok normally without any interruption.
The data download does not log you out, deactivate your profile, or delete any content. Your videos, followers, likes, comments, and all other account details remain intact. TikTok expressly states that downloading your information has no impact on your ability to access or operate your account. You can download your data archive multiple times without affecting your profile or activity in the app.
In summary, requesting and downloading your TikTok data is completely separate from any account termination or deletion. You can obtain a copy of your personal information for your records without having to close your account or stop using TikTok.
How Long Does TikTok Store Your Data?
TikTok stores users’ data for up to one year after an account is deleted, according to their privacy policy. This includes information like direct messages, videos shared, comments, and user analytics. However, TikTok does keep some data beyond the one year period in aggregated or anonymized formats. This data is used for analytics and improvements to the platform.
Specifically, TikTok’s privacy policy states: “We will delete or anonymize your account information within a reasonable period of time after you delete your account unless a longer retention period is required by law.” The policy notes the one year retention period for most data.
While one year data retention is the standard, according to an analysis by PIRG, some data may be kept longer for analytics, research, or business operations. This includes aggregated data after personal identifiers are removed. So while the content directly tied to your account is deleted in a year, TikTok may maintain anonymized analytics data indefinitely.
Does TikTok Allow Multiple Data Downloads?
TikTok limits users to one data download request every 3 months. This is to prevent abuse of their systems and ensure equitable access for all users. Per their data download policy, “Each user can make one data portability request every 90 days.”
The only exception is if TikTok is legally required to provide a user’s data multiple times, such as in response to a subpoena or other court order. In those cases, TikTok will provide the data as legally obligated, even if it is more frequent than their normal policy allows.
So in summary, you can only download your TikTok data once every 3 months, unless TikTok is legally compelled to provide it more often.
What Are the Pros and Cons?
There are several pros and cons to downloading your TikTok data. On the pro side, downloading your data allows you to:
Review personal usage data – Downloading your data allows you to see insights like how long you’ve spent on the app, your most liked videos, etc. This can help with digital wellness and evaluating your TikTok usage.
Back up your account data – Downloading creates a backup of your account info, likes, profile, etc. in case anything happens to your account.
See what TikTok knows about you – The download exposes the data TikTok has collected on you, such as location, ads shown, etc. This offers transparency into how the app tracks you. (Source)
On the con side:
Time consuming process – Requesting and downloading all of your TikTok data can take time and multiple steps. It may require patience to complete.
Data limits may exclude some content – TikTok’s download only includes data from the past 30-90 days, so older content may be excluded. There are also file size limits. (Source)
Key Takeaways
Downloading your TikTok data exports all of the information from your account, including your profile details, videos, messages, likes, comments, and more. This can be useful for reviewing your usage, saving your data before deleting your account, or understanding how your data is collected and used.
The data download includes your profile info, videos, messages, engagement history, contacts, account history, analytics, search history, watch history, and more. However, there are size limits, with a maximum of 1 GB for videos and 25 MB for other data.
Keep in mind the data only covers the last 30-90 days depending on content type. TikTok allows a single data download per day and downloading your data does not delete your account. Overall, downloading TikTok data gives useful insight into your account while allowing you to retain a copy.
