What happens if I clear tiktok data?

Clearing your TikTok data can be useful if your app is running slow, glitchy, or you want a fresh start on the platform. However, it’s important to understand what exactly gets cleared and the potential downsides before wiping your TikTok data.

What data gets cleared?

Here are the main categories of data that get cleared when you wipe your TikTok data:

• Watch history – Videos you’ve watched in the past will be removed from your watch history.
• Liked videos – Any videos you’ve liked will be unliked.
• Followers and following – The users you follow and follow you will remain unchanged.
• Drafted videos – Any unfinished video drafts will be deleted.
• Messages – All conversations and messages will be erased.
• Saved posts – Your saved posts and collections will be deleted.
• Settings – Some settings like themes may be reset to default.

Essentially, clearing your data resets your TikTok profile and feed to a brand new state. Your account itself will remain, along with your followers/following and usernames, but content consumption history and created content like drafts and messages will be removed.

What data is NOT cleared?

Some key pieces of data remain unaffected when clearing your TikTok data:

• Username and handle
• Profile photo and bio
• Followers and following lists
• Uploaded videos – Videos you’ve posted will NOT be deleted.
• Sounds and effects used – Any sounds or effects you’ve used in past videos will still be available.
• Linked social accounts – Connected Instagram, Facebook, etc accounts stay linked.

So any content you’ve publicly uploaded, your social connections, and profile customizations remain intact even after wiping your TikTok data.

Why would you want to clear your data?

Here are some of the main reasons people clear their TikTok data:

• Reset the recommendations algorithm – Wiping your watch history forces TikTok to relearn your interests from scratch and show different recommendations.
• Fix app glitches – Clearing data can resolve odd app behavior caused by corrupt caches or old settings.
• Remove embarrassing likes/messages – Wiping all your activity provides a clean slate if you’ve liked or messaged things you regret.
• Start fresh – Some people simply enjoy resetting their profile and discovering new content as if they just downloaded the app again.

Overall, clearing your data gives you a blank canvas to rebuild your profile and recommendations. It removes old cruft that may be slowing down the app or showing stale content.

Downsides of clearing TikTok data

While wiping your data can provide a fresh start, there are some downsides to be aware of:

• Lose draft videos – Any unfinished video drafts will be permanently deleted.
• Rebuild recommendations – It takes time for the algorithm to relearn your preferences and show relevant content again.
• Lose messages – Conversations with friends or followers will be erased.
• Remove watch history – Videos you wanted to rewatch later will be cleared from history.
• Unlike favorite videos – Any previously liked videos will be unliked, requiring you to rediscover and re-like them.

Essentially, clearing data means losing your personalization and needing to rebuild your profile from scratch. For some this is a benefit, while for others it may mean losing content they wanted to hang onto.

How to clear TikTok data

If you decide the pros outweigh the cons, here is how to wipe your TikTok data:

1. Open TikTok and tap the profile icon in the bottom right.
2. Go to the Settings & Privacy menu.
3. Tap “Clear cache” to delete temporary files and reset some settings.
4. Tap “Delete account” at the very bottom to permanently erase all of your TikTok data.
5. Enter your password and confirm deletion twice.

Once confirmed, all of your TikTok data except your profile itself will be deleted. The app will appear as if you just downloaded it for the first time.

Alternatives to fully clearing data

If you don’t want to take the nuclear option of deleting everything, here are some alternatives:

• Clear search history – This removes your past searches only, while liking videos you’ve watched.
• Clear watch history – Wipes only the videos you’ve previously viewed.
• Unlike videos – Manually unlike videos to clear your liked history.
• Unfollow users – Prune your following list to reset recommendations.
• Log out – Logging out then back in resets some temporary data while retaining your profile.

Using a combination of these targeted resets lets you modify parts of your data while keeping other information intact.

Takeaways

• Clearing TikTok data resets watch history, likes, drafts, and messages – but keeps your uploaded videos, followers, and profile.
• It provides a fresh slate to rebuild recommendations, fix glitches, and remove regrets – but you lose drafts, messages, and watch history.
• Fully deleting everything may be overkill for some users – try targeted resets of search/watch history, unliking videos, or unfollowing users first.

In summary, clearing TikTok data gives you a blank new profile and feed, but requires time to rebuild. Evaluate whether the pros outweigh losing your current personalization and history before wiping everything.