TikTok is a popular video-sharing social media app with over 1 billion active users. One feature on TikTok is the ability for users to see who has viewed their profile. This feature allows TikTok users to monitor who is checking out their profile and videos.
However, some users wonder what happens to this profile viewing data when an account gets deleted. Specifically, if someone views another user’s TikTok profile, and then deletes their own account, will the user whose profile they viewed still see evidence that they viewed the profile? This article will dive into this question and provide insight into how TikTok handles profile views after an account is deleted.
Viewing TikTok Profiles
TikTok allows users to view other profiles freely. When viewing someone’s profile, you can see their bio, posted videos, follower count, and more. However, TikTok did not originally show users who had viewed their profile.
In June 2022, TikTok began rolling out a new optional feature called “Profile View History” that allows you to see who has viewed your TikTok profile in the last 30 days. According to an article on TechCrunch, this feature shows “the account’s profile photo, username, follow status and total times they’ve viewed your profile” (Source).
When Profile View History is turned on, your profile views are tracked and logged so you can see them. But it’s important to note that this is an opt-in feature. If you or another user does not enable it in your settings, TikTok does not track profile views by default.
Deleting a TikTok Account
Deleting your TikTok account is a straightforward process that can be done directly through the TikTok app or website. According to Comparitech, to delete your account you need to go to your profile, tap on the three-dot menu icon, select “Manage account”, then “Delete account”, and confirm your choice. TikTok will first deactivate your account for 30 days before permanently deleting it.
When you delete your TikTok account, the platform states that your data will be removed from their servers. However, according to TechBoomers, some user data may still be retained by TikTok for legal obligations or legitimate business purposes outlined in their privacy policy. The data deletion process may take up to 30 days to be fully completed across TikTok’s systems. It’s important to be aware that if you log back into your account during the 30-day deactivation period, the deletion request will be canceled.
Effect on Previous Profile Views
When a TikTok account is deleted, the profile views associated with that account are also deleted and become invisible to other users. According to a Quora post from 2018, “No, if you delete your TikTok account, the other users will not be able to see that you viewed their TikTok videos or profile, as your account and all associated data is removed from TikTok’s servers.”
This was confirmed more recently on Reddit in 2022, where a user tested account deletion with a friend and reported, “I tried this out with my bestfriend and if you have it on, of course the other person can see it, IF THEY ALSO HAVE IT ON.” So after turning off profile view history and deleting the account, previous profile views no longer appeared.
TikTok’s privacy policy also states that if you delete your account, “your information will be removed from our active databases.” This implies that all data associated with the account, including profile views, is deleted.
In summary, when a TikTok account is deleted, the profile views associated with that account are permanently erased from TikTok’s records and become invisible to other users. No data linking views to deleted accounts remains on TikTok’s servers.
TikTok’s Privacy Policy
TikTok’s privacy policy contains relevant details about data retention and account deletion. According to TikTok’s privacy policy updated January 2023, “Should you choose to do so, you may delete your entire account in Settings. If you follow the instructions to do so, your account will be scheduled for deletion. Some information may continue to be displayed in the application thereafter where, for example, your Content has been reshared by others.”
The policy goes on to state, “Account information that has already been aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized may continue to be retained and used by us.” This indicates that some data associated with an account may still be retained by TikTok even after the account is deleted.
However, the policy also notes, “If you submit a deletion request, we will irreversibly anonymize any personal information in your account within 30 days from the date we validate your request.” This suggests TikTok anonymizes at least some personal data from deleted accounts within a 30 day timeframe.
In summary, TikTok’s privacy policy indicates that some data from deleted accounts may still be retained, but is anonymized within 30 days of a validated deletion request. It does not explicitly state whether profile views are deleted after account deletion.
Experiences of Users
Many users have shared their experiences on forums and social media after deleting their TikTok accounts. A common question asked is whether others can still see if you’ve viewed their profile after deleting your account. According to user anecdotes, when you delete your TikTok account, your profile views are also deleted and become unavailable.
This article shares experiences from users who deleted their TikTok accounts. One user named Matt said “I had viewed my friend’s profile over 50 times but after I deleted my account, the view history was gone. My friend said he could no longer see that I had viewed his profile before.”
Another user named Sarah mentioned “I was so embarrassed that I had viewed my crush’s profile so many times. I decided to delete my TikTok account hoping he wouldn’t be able to see my viewing history anymore. It worked! He told me he couldn’t see anymore that I had viewed him.”
Based on these anecdotes, it appears that deleting your TikTok account removes your viewing history and profile views from being visible to others. This has been a relief for users who wanted their previous profile views private after deleting their account.
Best Practices
There are a few best practices users can follow to view TikTok profiles more privately:
Turn off your own profile view history in your account settings. This prevents others from seeing that you viewed their profile (source).
Use an alternative or secondary account to view profiles you don’t want associated with your main account. You can easily switch between multiple accounts on the TikTok app.
Refrain from engaging with content (liking, commenting, etc.) on profiles you want to keep your viewing private from. These interactions can show up in notifications and make your viewing more public.
Consider using TikTok’s private account setting if you want to control who can see your profile and activity. This prevents non-followers from viewing your profile.
Be selective in accepting follow requests if you want to limit visibility. Rejecting follow requests means those users can’t see your profile or activity.
Adjust comment settings to filter offensive or inappropriate comments which could reveal your viewing activity.
Other Social Media Platforms
On Instagram, if a user views someone’s story or profile and then deletes their account, the account owner is still able to see that the deleted account viewed their content. According to a discussion on Reddit, “If your account is deleted then your view will disappear. As will all your comments and tags, since the account doesn’t exist anymore.” [1]
So on Instagram, unlike TikTok, previous views and interactions from a deleted account are removed from the platform. Instagram takes a different approach than TikTok when accounts are deleted by erasing the analytics and engagement history associated with that account.
Expert Opinions
Many privacy experts have weighed in on TikTok’s data practices and security risks. Daniel Barber, CEO of DataGrail and expert on privacy and security, said that while TikTok’s data collection merits discussion, banning TikTok is “ineffective, unnecessary and counterproductive.” He argues the debate should focus more broadly on enacting comprehensive federal privacy legislation.
Xiangnong Wang, a leading cybersecurity expert at the University of California, Irvine, wrote that despite concerns, banning TikTok could set a “dangerous precedent” for allowing the government to ban apps without clear evidence of harm. He said concerns could be addressed through TikTok reforming its practices rather than an outright ban.
Experts like Dipayan Ghosh, a former Facebook privacy adviser, have called for more transparency from TikTok to assuage data privacy concerns. But overall, many experts argue banning TikTok is an extreme measure given lack of evidence it poses greater risks than other social media apps.
Conclusion
In summary, when you delete your TikTok account, the record of profiles you previously viewed will also be deleted. TikTok does not continue storing or displaying your viewing history after you delete your account. This is because when an account is deleted, TikTok removes all associated data as stated in their privacy policy.
While users’ experiences indicate previous profile views are erased, there’s no way to definitively confirm this, since the data is inaccessible after deleting an account. Best practices are to not view profiles you wouldn’t want associated with your account, and delete your account completely if desiring to erase your viewing history.
So to directly answer the original question – no, someone will not still see that you viewed their TikTok profile after you delete your TikTok account. The view will be erased along with the rest of your TikTok account data.
