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Who can see my TikTok search history?
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 1 billion monthly active users. Like any social media app, privacy and security settings are important to understand – especially when it comes to who can see what you search for on TikTok.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about TikTok search history privacy, including:
- Can TikTok see your search history?
- Can other users see your TikTok search history?
- How to delete your TikTok search history
- How to turn off search history on TikTok
- TikTok search history privacy settings
- Does deleting an account delete search history?
- Third-party apps and TikTok search data
- Protecting your TikTok search privacy
Can TikTok see your search history?
Yes, TikTok can view your full search history on their platform. As the app provider, TikTok has access to all user data including profiles, videos watched, accounts followed, comments made, and search terms used.
TikTok states in their Privacy Policy that they collect information about content you search for, view, or interact with. This includes search terms, viewed videos, engaged posts, clicked links, etc.
TikTok uses search data and other usage information to customize the app experience, provide relevant content recommendations, target advertising, and for analytics purposes.
Can other users see your TikTok search history?
No, your TikTok search history is not viewable by other users on the platform. Your search terms, autocomplete recommendations, and search results are private.
Unlike some social media sites like Facebook, TikTok does not have a search history page that displays a log of all searches made by a user. So you don’t have to worry about friends or random users snooping on the content you’ve searched for.
How to delete your TikTok search history
Unfortunately, there is no setting within TikTok to directly clear or delete your full search history. However, there are a couple of options to help remove searches:
Delete individual searches
In the TikTok app, tap on the search bar at the top and you will see a list of your recent searches. Tap the X icon next to a search term to delete it from your current history.
While this removes it from the visible recents, it does not delete the search from TikTok’s records.
Turn on search history clearing
You can enable an option in Privacy settings to automatically clear search history every 24 hours.
Go to your TikTok Profile > Settings and Privacy > Privacy > Clear watch and search history and turn it on.
This will remove searches older than 24 hours, but does not apply retroactively to past searches.
How to turn off search history on TikTok
TikTok does not allow users to fully disable search history tracking. But you can limit the amount of new history being saved with these steps:
Turn off Autocomplete
Autocomplete records search terms to provide suggested results as you type. Disable this to avoid searches being stored:
Profile > Settings and privacy > Privacy > Suggested searches > turn off
Avoid signing-in
Using TikTok while signed out provides more anonymity and prevents searches from being linked to your account.
Use Anonymous Account
Create a separate anonymous TikTok account to search from occasionally. Just don’t link it to your regular profile or phone number.
TikTok search history privacy settings
While you can’t completely eliminate TikTok tracking your searches, you can customize your privacy settings:
Make account private
Set your TikTok account to private in Settings > Privacy. This limits visibility of your profile and activity.
Turn off data personalization
Disable targeted advertising based on your activity: Settings > Privacy > Personalization & Data
Limit tracking
Revoke permission for TikTok to access certain information that may be used for monitoring your usage and searches: Settings > Privacy > Permission management
Does deleting an account delete search history?
When you fully delete your TikTok account, your profile, videos, likes, follows, comments, and search history should be erased from their systems.
However, data may persist in backups or archives for some time. And any information already used for advertising profiles or analytics purposes will remain in those systems.
So deleting your account helps discard future tracking of new searches, but does not retroactively erase all search data TikTok previously collected about you.
Third-party apps and TikTok search data
Third-party mobile apps can sometimes access information about your social media usage. For example, some VPN, password manager, and social media enhancer apps request access to profile data.
Make sure to check the permissions of any third-party apps linked to your TikTok account. Revoke access for any apps that don’t need search or usage details.
Additionally, be cautious what information you share publicly on TikTok. Hashtags, captions, and comments referencing your searches could provide hints about your activity.
Protecting your TikTok search privacy
Here are some final tips for keeping your TikTok search history private:
- Use non-identifying account details like a nickname vs full name
- Avoid logging in on shared devices
- Don’t link other social media accounts
- Turn off GPS location data for the app
- Use a VPN when accessing TikTok
- Periodically clear cookies/data for the TikTok app
- Review privacy settings and limit tracking options
- Be cautious posting content that references searches
- Delete individual searches promptly after use
Keeping your searches anonymous takes some work within TikTok’s privacy limitations. But being proactive about these settings and habits will help maximize your search history privacy on the platform.
