Eager about deleting your TikTok account? We are able to present you the way.
Earlier than we get to that, you may be to seek out what sort of information TikTok collects about you — and the way lengthy TikTok retains your account information, even after you delete it.
What does TikTok learn about you?
For that, we flip to TikTok’s privateness coverage web page.[i] TikTok collects information identical to virtually every other social media platform, and the record of what they gather runs lengthy. You may see a full record of their privateness coverage, but right here are some things you may need to learn about. Per TikTok:
- Consumer-generated content material, together with feedback, pictures, stay streams, audio recordings, movies, textual content, hashtags, and digital merchandise movies that you simply select to create with or add to the Platform (“Consumer Content material”) and the related metadata, comparable to when, the place, and by whom the content material was created. Even in case you are not a consumer, details about chances are you’ll seem in Consumer Content material created or printed by customers on the Platform.
- Messages, which embrace data you present whenever you compose, ship, or obtain messages by the Platform’s messaging functionalities. They embrace messages you ship by our chat performance when speaking with sellers who promote items to you, and your use of digital assistants when buying objects by the Platform. That data consists of the content material of the message and details about the message, comparable to when it was despatched, acquired, or learn, and message individuals.
- Buy data, together with fee card numbers or different third-party fee data (comparable to PayPal) the place required for the aim of fee, and billing and transport handle. We additionally gather data that’s required for prolonged guarantee functions and your transaction and buy historical past on or by the Platform.
- TikTok may additionally gather or obtain details about you from organizations, companies, folks, and others, together with, for instance, publicly obtainable sources, authorities authorities, skilled organizations, and charity teams.
- Advertisers, measurement, and different companions share data with us about you and the actions you might have taken outdoors of the Platform, comparable to your actions on different web sites and apps or in shops, together with the services or products you bought, on-line or in particular person. These companions additionally share data with us, comparable to cell identifiers for promoting, hashed e-mail addresses and telephone numbers, and cookie identifiers, which we use to assist match you and your actions outdoors of the Platform together with your TikTok account.
So, TikTok is aware of the content material you create, the content material you seem in, and the messages you ship (and the particular contents of these messages) — and probably fee data and the folks in your telephone contacts. Moreover, it collects data on you from different sources and on any purchases you might need made by the platform.
What different information does TikTok gather?
The record continues. As soon as once more, you possibly can go to their privateness coverage web page for extra particulars, but right here’s a partial rundown of different information they gather about you routinely. Per TikTok:
- Location Knowledge. We gather details about your approximate location, together with location data primarily based in your SIM card and/or IP handle. As well as, we gather location data (comparable to vacationer sights, outlets, or different factors of curiosity) in case you select so as to add the situation data to your Consumer Content material. Present variations of the app don’t gather exact or approximate GPS data from U.S. customers.
- Picture and Audio Data. We might gather details about the movies, photographs, and audio which might be part of your Consumer Content material, comparable to figuring out the objects and surroundings that seem, the existence and site inside a picture of face and physique options and attributes, the character of the audio, and the textual content of the phrases spoken in your Consumer Content material.
- Metadata. While you add or create Consumer Content material, you routinely add sure metadata that’s related to the Consumer Content material. Metadata describes different information and gives details about your Consumer Content material that won’t all the time be evident to the viewer. For instance, in connection together with your Consumer Content material, the metadata can describe how, when, the place, and by whom the piece of Consumer Content material was created, collected, or modified and the way that content material is formatted. It additionally consists of data, comparable to your account identify, which allows different customers to hint again the Consumer Content material to your consumer account.
How lengthy does TikTok maintain your information?
As for the way lengthy they maintain all that information and data they gather, the reply is unclear. Per TikTok,
“We retain data for so long as obligatory to supply the Platform and for the opposite functions set out on this Privateness Coverage. We additionally retain data when essential to adjust to contractual and authorized obligations, when now we have a respectable enterprise curiosity to take action (comparable to enhancing and growing the Platform and enhancing its security, safety, and stability), and for the train or protection of authorized claims.” [ii]
The important thing phrases listed below are “so long as obligatory” and “when obligatory.” TikTok doesn’t set a selected interval in its coverage. Actually, TikTok goes on to say that the durations differ primarily based on “totally different standards, comparable to the kind of data and the needs for which we use the knowledge.”
Now, onto the steps for deleting your TikTok account.
Easy methods to delete your TikTok account
- Within the TikTok app, faucet Profile at the underside.
- Faucet the Menu ☰ button on the high.
- Faucet Settings and Privateness.
- Faucet Account, then faucet Deactivate or delete account, and observe the directions to delete your account.
- Notice that at this level you might have the choice to obtain your information (like your video posts), since you received’t have entry to them when you delete your account. Be sure to obtain your information earlier than you choose Delete.
Notice that TikTok gives a 30-day grace interval when you delete your account. If you wish to hop again onto the platform, you possibly can merely reactivate your account throughout that interval. All of your data, information, and posts will probably be there. After these 30 days, you’ll not have entry to them.
We recommend yet another step along with those above.
- Take away your data from the information dealer websites that promote it.
Right here’s why you may need to do this … Given the way in which social media firms share data with third events, there’s an opportunity your private data might need made it onto one or a number of information dealer websites. These websites purchase and promote in depth lists of private to anybody, which ranges anyplace from advertisers to spammers and scammers.
If the considered your private data being purchased and bought places you off, there’s one thing you are able to do about it. Our Private Knowledge Cleanup service can scan a number of the riskiest information dealer websites and present you which of them are promoting your private data. It additionally gives steerage on how one can take away your information from these websites, and with choose merchandise, it could possibly even handle the removing for you.
[i] https://www.tiktok.com/authorized/web page/row/privacy-policy/en
[ii] https://www.tiktok.com/authorized/web page/row/privacy-policy/en
