Tech

How To See Your Watch History On TikTok

Rescued from the depths of the For You page.

Updated: 
Originally Published: 
A woman looks for videos she scrolled past on TikTok. TikTok is testing a watch history function tha...
South_agency/E+/Getty Images

Lukewarm TikTok enthusiasts might just think of the app as a quick fix for entertainment. But if you’re a dedicated TikTok scroller, you know that discovering the hidden gems of the video app is hard work. Not everybody has the stamina to scroll until their eyes bleed searching for the next video with “sound potential,” or to be the hunter-gatherer of your group chat’s meme supply. If you’re someone who treats your For You Page scroll like a scavenger hunt, then you’re also likely familiar with the dreaded feeling of losing a TikTok.

It’s a tale as old as time. You stumble upon a TikTok with potential, ready to double tap it so that you can cherish it in your likes library. Then, you accidentally refresh your For You Page — or, forget to like it and then lose it in your never-ending scroll.

It’s a common issue that’s not only devastating, but also tough to recover from — unless the video went super viral under a certain hashtag, it’s pretty much impossible to search. However, soon, this modern dilemma could be a thing of the past with a new watch history feature from TikTok. According to TechCrunch, the social media platform launched a test for the feature in late March, which will offer users the ability to see their TikTok watch history. Read on for more on the feature, and whether it’s coming soon to a For You Page near you.

TikTok Watch History

As of right now, the official TikTok watch history feature is in its beta phase, meaning that it has only been rolled out to a select test group of users to work out the kinks of the feature. Twitter user Hammod Oh shared a sneak peek of the feature in a Twitter screenshot, which shows that the feature is located in the “content and activity” section of one’s settings.

From this section, users will be able to review their entire watch history, most likely in chronological order starting from most recently watched. Oh’s Twitter thread continues on to show that the feature will show the past seven days of your watch history, and include the option to delete your watch history. (So, perfect for hiding the fact that you’re still deep into ElmoTok.)

Why Can’t I See My TikTok Watch History?

If you’re unable to find this feature in your content and activity section of your TikTok settings, then you are likely not a part of the selected group of users to test out this feature. However, it’s likely that the feature will eventually roll out to all users at some point in the future.

In the meantime, TikTok users have found some workarounds to access your watch history. As Alphr reports, one solution is to head to the privacy section of your settings, select “personalization and data,” and select “download data.” From your data download, select “Video Browsing History,” and you’ll be able to view your watch history.

Another hack exposed by TikToker @rachforaday shows that searching for an asterisk (*) on your Discover page, then selecting the filter “Watched videos” can show a selection of your recently watched videos. However, it seems that this does not show a full consecutive list of your recently watched videos, but instead a randomly ordered selection.

For now, sit tight and try to keep a tight grip on your scrolling finger to avoid losing any precious TikTok videos.

This article was originally published on