How to delete a TikTok account

TikTok is owned by a Beijing-based company ByteDance. Some privacy experts believe the Chinese government may use the app to gather intelligence, censor content in certain countries, and promote their political agenda. In 2020, President Donald Trump even threatened to ban TikTok in the US due to privacy concerns. However, with the new president in the office, the ban was postponed.

TikTok collects a lot of information about you: biometric data, location, messages, cookies, and more. As a result, many privacy-oriented users worry about TikTok’s security and choose to delete it. How comfortable are you knowing that your most private information resides in some database?

While TikTok creators distance themselves from the Chinese government and claim that they would never hand over users’ data upon request, we can never be sure if that’s true. Whether you’ve decided to delete your TikTok account for privacy and security reasons or just don’t want to waste your time anymore, we’ll guide you through the deletion process.

1. Tap Profile.

2. Tap the three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner.

3. Select Manage account.

4. Select Delete account.

5. Tap Continue and then Continue.

6. Verify your account to complete deletion and then tap Delete account.

After deleting your TikTok account, you won’t be able to access your videos, messages, and any other information. However, TikTok allows you to download your data before deleting your account, so, if you don’t want to lose your videos, it’s a good idea to save them.

When you delete your TikTok account, you have 30 days to change your mind. During this period, you can log in to your account, reactivate it, and continue using TikTok as if nothing happened.

After the 30 days are over, you won’t be able to recover your account, and it will be lost forever.

TikTok doesn’t have the option to deactivate your account temporarily and then recover it in the future whenever you feel like it. If you decide to delete your TikTok account, make sure to consider all the consequences. Otherwise, it can be too late.

TikTok doesn’t allow you to delete all your videos at once — you can only delete them one by one. If you want to get rid of hundreds of videos, it will definitely take some time. Here’s how to delete a TikTok video:

1. Tap Profile to see the list of uploaded videos.

2. Select the video you want to delete.

3. Tap the three dots.

4. Tap Delete.

5. Confirm your selection by tapping Delete.

This will delete your video permanently, and you won’t be able to retrieve it.

If you’ve changed your mind and no longer want to delete your TikTok account, you can retrieve it. However, this will only work within 30 days of deactivating your account. Here’s how to recover your account:

1. Open the TikTok app.
2. Tap Log in at the bottom-right corner and select your way of authentication.

3. Tap Reactivate.

You will now be able to access your account and use TikTok like before. We also have tutorials explaining how to delete your Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and other accounts. Remember — the more social media accounts you have, the less private you become. Make sure to follow these tips to protect your privacy online and enhance your security.

Want to read more like this?

Get the latest news and tips from NordVPN.

Subscribe

Subscribe

You've successfully subscribed to our newsletter!

Email is invalid

Subscribe

We won't spam and you will always be able to unsubscribe.