TikTok’s Watch History lets users discover videos they’ve watched but failed to save. There are many reasons to dive into an archive of previously viewed videos. For example, maybe the user accidentally refreshes the For You Page (FYP) before finishing a TikTok, a common mistake. Or, perhaps the user didn’t save a TikTok and wants to watch it again. No matter the reason, it’s nice to know there is a way to retrieve them.
TikTok is a top-rated short-form video platform where users find entertainment and discover information. Users collectively watch over one million TikToks daily, which is easy to do with the massive amount of content available. TikTok’s FYP allows users to scroll through videos chosen by the app’s algorithm mindlessly. In addition, the app has added features such as the Favorites and Collections feature, allowing users to find videos they enjoyed quickly. Then in 2022, TikTok tested and implemented the Watch History function so users can uncover videos they may not have saved but have trouble finding in the search.
Finding the watch history on TikTok is easy. Start by opening the app and navigating to the ‘Profile’ menu on the bottom right of the screen. Once the profile section of the app is displayed, tap the three lines, aka the hamburger menu, located at the top right. A menu will appear. Choose ‘Settings and privacy’ to display a long list of options. Under the ‘Content & Activity’ column, tap ‘Watch History.’ Now the user will have access to any videos they have watched up to a certain length of time.
Watch History Shortcomings
As mentioned above, the Watch History feature is limited. TikTok will only store seven days worth of data within this tool. Unsurprising given the massive amount of content users consume daily. However, head to the ‘Privacy’ settings for in-depth research into Watch History to download the account’s data. Additionally, users can turn off the Watch History feature. Locate the ‘Watch History Settings’ icon at the top right of the screen and change the toggle. The same settings menu includes a ‘Clear History’ option so users can delete the videos. However, there currently is no way to delete individual videos from the tool.
The Watch History feature can be helpful when trying to recover an unsaved video, but it has some quirks. For one, the feature will store anything scrolled through on the FYP, even if the user didn’t watch the video. Sometimes people will watch just a few seconds and decide they don’t want to watch the full content. Regardless, these videos will appear in history even if the user doesn’t want them to. That also means many FYP discards are clogging up the archive making it harder to find content. Also, there currently is no way to filter the videos or a search bar to research with, adding to that inconvenience. TikTok may make this tool more versatile in the future. Even so, the Watch History still adds value and convenience for the most recently viewed videos.
Sources: TikTok
