According to TikTok user demographics (2024), with over 1 billion monthly active users, 25% of which are between the ages of 10-19 and 47% under the age of 30. No doubt that TikTok has become a major source of entertainment for Gen Z. It is a video-sharing social media app that’s extremely popular among children, teens, and young adults. Kids nowadays are fully aware of how to create and share videos on this platform as well as manage their TikTok watch history.
Parents on the other hand, often have trouble finding out what their kids are watching and how to keep them in check. This article provides an overview of how the watch history feature on TikTok works, how to enable or disable it, and how to monitor your kid’s activity on TikTok.
How the TikTok watch history feature works?
Like other social media apps, such as Instagram and Facebook, TikTok keeps track of users’ activity on the platform throughout the day. This could include the videos you created but didn’t upload (in the form of drafts), your profile views, videos you watched or engaged with, and any purchases you made from TikTok Shop.
According to TikTok’s Privacy Policy, they collect users’ data to understand user behavior and to do targeted advertising, according to their individual preferences. The TikTok watch history feature enables them to recommend similar content to what the user interacts with.
This is one of the key reasons why TikTok is so addictive, especially among the younger audience. TikTok takes users’ watch history to create a personalized “For You” page for them. The tailored content keeps the users hooked for longer periods. Your watch history lasts for 180 days (6 months) before TikTok removes it.
How do you see your TikTok watch history?
There is no way to enable watch history on TikTok as it is a built-in setting that works automatically for every user. You can, however, view your TikTok watch history easily from your mobile app. If you’re a parent and wondering where is watch history on TikTok, follow these simple steps to find out:
1. Open your TikTok app and tap on the profile icon.
2. Once on the profile, go to the three horizontal lines (the menu).
3. Check “Settings and Privacy” from the given options.
4. Then, scroll down until you find the “Activity Center” category and tap on it.
5. Select “Watch History” and have a look at all the videos you watched in the last 6 months in chronological order.
From the Activity Center, you can not only see your TikTok watch history but also your comment and search history. Another thing to remember is that watch history on TikTok is stored and viewed only on the mobile app, not the TikTok web browser.
How to find watched history from a specific date?
As of now, TikTok doesn’t offer any filter that you can use to find a watched video from a specific date. However, if you want to find a video from a specific day or month, you can simply scroll through your watch history page and rewatch it. As the content on the watch history page appears in chronological order (the latest at the top), it is not difficult to find a video from a certain date, week, or month. You can also use the search bar to find videos watched on a particular day.
How to search for TikTok videos you’ve watched?
If you remember the name of a video you watched some time ago and you want to find it in your TikTok watch history, you can do that by using the search option. TikTok allows users to search for specific videos they have watched using keywords or hashtags. Here are the steps:
- Go to the home page on your TikTok app.
- Tap on the search icon (magnifying glass).
- Type in the relevant keyword or the name of the video you want to find and hit Search.
- Select the “Watched” button right above the search results, next to “All”, “Unwatched”, then tap “Apply”.
- Then it will filter down the search results and show you only the videos you have watched already.
- Pick the video you were looking for and watch.
Remember: The Watched search filter only appears in the Top tab so make sure you’re on it before you try to find a watched video like this.
How to delete your TikTok view history?
Children and teenagers might try to clear their recently watched TikTok videos to maintain their privacy. There are two methods to delete view history from your TikTok app; you can clear the entire watch history in one go or select individual videos from the list and then delete them one by one. Whether you’re using an Apple or Android phone, the steps remain the same, here they are:
- Go to the TikTok watch history page on your mobile app. (Profile > Menu > Settings and Privacy > Activity Center > Watch History)
- Tap the “Select” option at the top right corner.
- Choose the videos you want to delete and hit the red “Delete” button at the bottom right corner.
- To clear all of the videos from your Watch History page, tap on “Select All Watch History” and select “Delete”.
Tip: There is no way to access your watch history and engagement data on the TikTok web version, so if you want to delete your watch history, you have to use the mobile app.
Is there a way to see deleted watch history?
No, once you delete some or all of the videos from your TikTok view history, it gets deleted forever. You cannot view it again on the watch history page unless you search for that video and watch it again. Deleting videos from your TikTok watch history also slightly impacts the For You page that TikTok creates based on your user data and preferences.
Bonus | A top parental control solution to monitor kids’ TikTok
There is no way to stop your kids from using TikTok, but you can monitor what they watch on that app. Parental control solutions like FlashGet Kids allow you to keep an eye on your children’s internet and social media usage so that you can protect them from being victims of cybercrimes.
FlashGet Kids is a reliable parental control app that helps you create a healthy and age-appropriate online environment for your kids. It lets you see which apps are installed on your kids’ devices, the most frequently used apps, how much screen time they spend daily, and the notifications they receive from those apps.
It also enables you to protect your child’s innocence and mental health by tracking and intercepting inappropriate notifications and apps using App Blockers. Using FlashGet Kids is a great way to stay informed about your kid’s online presence and understand their preferences.
Monitor your child’s TikTok activity with FlashGet Kids using these simple steps:
- Install the FlashGet Kids app on your iOS or Android mobile device.
- Create your FlashGet account and choose the suitable pricing plan.
- Sign in to your account.
- Bind your mobile device with your kids’ devices and start observing.
Conclusion
In this fast-moving digital world, parents must stay up-to-date with the recent online trends and social media apps like TikTok, where teens spend most of their time. Keeping up with everything your kid is doing online can be overwhelming but not with the FlashGet Kids app. FlashGet Kids helps parents better understand their children’s inner world and analyze their internet, and phone usage throughout the day, to protect them from online harm.
FAQs
1. Does TikTok watch history go away automatically?
The TikTok watch history stays in your account for 180 days if you don’t delete it manually. After 180 days, it goes away itself.
2. Can anyone see my watch history on TikTok?
No, others cannot see your watch history on TikTok. It can only be accessed by the account user through the “Activity Center” in “Settings and Privacy”.
3. Can you recover TikTok watch history?
No, once you delete one or all of the videos from the TikTok view history, it cannot be recovered.
4. How do I find a video that I commented on?
Go to your TikTok Profile, tap “Settings and Privacy”, scroll down to “Activity Center”, and select “Comment History”. There you can see all the comments you made.
5. Can you know who viewed your TikTok?
You can know who viewed your TikTok profile by turning on the “Profile Views” but can’t find out who watched your videos. You can only see the number of views of the video.
