How to Download Your TikTok Data (and What's Included)

To download your TikTok data, go to Profile, the menu, Settings and privacy, Account, then Download your data; choose what to include and TXT or JSON, and tap Request data. TikTok prepares the file, which can take from minutes to a few days, then notifies you. Download it from the Download data tab within 4 days, before it expires.

Your export holds your profile, watch history, searches, comments, likes, messages and more. This guide covers how to request it, which format to choose, what’s inside and how to read it. Every other TikTok guide starts from how to search on TikTok. Drafts that never left your phone are covered in how to find TikTok drafts and save them to your camera roll, and the app’s data plan use in how much mobile data TikTok uses.

How Do You Request Your TikTok Data?

You request your data in the app’s account settings, or on tiktok.com in the privacy settings. Listed below are the 7 steps in the app.

1. Tap Profile, then the menu (three lines).
2. Tap Settings and privacy.
3. Tap Account.
4. Tap Download your data.
5. Select the data to include, or keep all of it.
6. Choose a file format: TXT or JSON.
7. Tap Request data.

When it’s ready, return to the same screen, open the Download data tab and tap Download. The file is a ZIP.

Should You Choose TXT or JSON?

Choose JSON if you want to analyse the data or open it in another tool; choose TXT if you only want to read it. JSON keeps the structure, such as dates and links in separate fields, which makes it easy to load into a spreadsheet or script. TXT is easier to skim but harder to work with.

How Long Does a TikTok Data Download Take?

A data request can be ready in minutes or take a few days, depending on how much activity your account has. The finished file stays available for 4 days; after that you must request it again (TikTok for Developers). The newest 24 to 48 hours of some categories may not be included yet because of processing time.

What’s Included in Your TikTok Data?

Your TikTok export is grouped into categories covering your profile, activity, videos, messages and settings. The table shows what each one holds.

Category	What it holds
Profile	Username, bio, profile photo, and the email, phone and birth date on the account
Activity	Watch history, search history, likes, favorites, follower and following lists, shares, and login history
Comments	Comments you posted, with dates
Videos	Videos you posted
Direct messages	Your chat history
App settings	Privacy, notification and language settings
Ads and data	Ad interests and off-TikTok activity, where available

Some data isn’t included, such as data that would affect other people’s privacy. What TikTok collects in general, including data that isn’t in the file, is covered in what data does TikTok collect about you.

How Do You Read Your TikTok Data File?

Unzip the file, then open the TXT files in any text editor or the JSON file in a code editor, spreadsheet tool or script. The JSON file can be large; don’t try to open a big one in a basic text editor. Your watch history and search history are the sections people look for most, and each has its own guide: how to see your TikTok watch history and how to clear your TikTok search history.

What Can You Do With Your TikTok Data?

You can use your export to keep a backup, find an old video, see your full watch history, or move your data to another service. Listed below are the 4 most common uses.

• Back up your own videos and comments.
• Find an old video you watched, through the links in your watch history.
• Review what you’ve searched, liked and saved.
• Move your data with apps that use TikTok’s Data Portability API, which needs your permission.

Saved videos and collections in the app are covered in how to find saved videos and manage collections on TikTok.

How Do Apps Get Your TikTok Data?

Apps can only get your private TikTok data with your permission, through TikTok’s official developer APIs, such as the Data Portability API. That API lets an approved app request the same export on your behalf, by category: all data, activity, videos, profile or direct messages (TikTok for Developers). Which APIs exist and what they allow is covered in TikTok API in 2026.

Public data is different: anyone can see your public videos and their numbers, and tools such as apidojo’s TikTok Scraper read that public layer only, never your private export. Keeping your account private limits what’s public.