How to delete TikTok search history

Deleting your TikTok search history is a quick way to keep your app activity private and refresh your recommendations, and luckily it’s a really easy process.

With the way TikTok is set up, as soon as you start watching a particular type of video for a while, you’re going to get recommended similar ones. 

Of course, you can filter things out by following different creators and topics on your Following section, but the For You Page is still going to be a collection of recommended clips that the platform thinks you’re interested in. 

In some cases, you might not fancy what the app is showing you and you’ll want to look up something else instead. That’s where the search comes in. Though, you may also want to delete that from time to time, just to keep things fresh. 

Unsplash: Collabstr

How to clear your TikTok search history

Of course, you can turn off watch history altogether, but if you just want to delete the last week or so of searches then doing so is easy.

You have two options for it, though. You can choose to ‘clear all’ and delete everything you’ve searched for in a recent window, or you can just delete selected searches and keep some others. 

To clear everything, you just have to open up your search history and click ‘clear all’ at the very bottom. Though, to just remove selected searches, just press the little ‘x’ next to the term you’ve searched for. 

1. Open up the TikTok app.
2. Click the magnifying glass/search bar at the top of the screen.
3. Press the ‘x’ next to a specific term to remove it.
4. Click the ‘see more’ option at the bottom to show all your searches.
5. Select ‘clear all’ if you want to completely clear out your search history.
6. Click the ‘confirm’ option once you’re sure you want to remove it

Screenshot via TikTok

Hit the ‘clear all’ option on your TikTok search history to delete your whole search history.

The process is just as easy if you’re on a desktop. Just tap on the search bar as if you’re going to search for something, but then click on the ‘see more’ button under your search history to reveal the ‘clear all’ button.

Once you have cleared out your search history, your For You Page might get a bit of an overhaul right away and recommend more general videos – though, some of those previously watched clips might slip back in.

It’ll take a few watches on different types of clips to completely rework your FYP, but that’s up to you.

If you want to learn more about how to use TikTok, check out our other guides including how to find contacts on TikTok and how to use TikTok Stories.