
The popular social media app TikTok may soon be unavailable to users in the US due to a potential ban on Sunday, January 19. President Biden signed legislation requiring the sale or ban of the Chinese-owned app for national security reasons.
As the Supreme Court recently upheld this law, TikTok could "go dark" immediately. In countries like India, where TikTok is banned, users cannot download or access the app content.
Some experts believe that even if TikTok remains accessible initially, it will become less usable over time due to a lack of updates.
Download your TikTok data and videos
To prepare for this potential ban, TikTok users in the US are downloading their data, including videos, likes, and comments. Here’s how to download your TikTok data on a desktop:
- Open your web browser and go to the TikTok website.
- Log into your account.
- Hover over your profile photo in the top right corner and click "Settings."
- In "Manage Account," find the "Data" section and click "Download your data."
- Choose the information you want to request and the file format.
- Click "Request Data."
- Verify your account if prompted.
Once TikTok processes your request, you will have four days to download your data. When your data is ready:
- Return to the "Download TikTok Data" page and click "Download."
- The file will download as a zip file.
To view your posts, open the zip file, navigate to the "Tiktok" folder, click on "posts," open the text file, copy the link, and paste it into your web browser.
Keep in mind, that TikTok may not send data that "affects the privacy of others," and saved videos will be in the form of links, not downloadable videos. If you don’t receive all your posts, try downloading them individually.