Why does TikTok Use So Much Storage?

why does tiktok use so much storage

If you have been using TikTok for a long time and are now facing issues with storage space and wondering why TikTok takes up so much storage space and looking for solutions to free up space, you have come up to the right place.

Through this blog, you will get the solutions to your issues. So, read the blog carefully to understand why does Tiktok takes up so much storage, how to clear Tiktok cache and free up space, how to reduce TikTok storage, and how much storage does Tiktok use?

What is Tiktok?

TikTok is a video-sharing app that enables users to make and share short videos on any topic using filters, stickers, voiceovers, sound effects, and background music. Moreover, Tiktok was launched in 2016 by the Chinese technology company ByteDance. TikTok is gaining huge popularity due to its personalized feeds of quirky short videos set to music, amazing sound effects, addictive quality, and high levels of engagement.

why does tiktok take so much space

If you are wondering Why is TikTok So Popular, then below are the top 10 reasons why is TikTok so famous:

  1. Celebrity endorsements
  2. Viral trends and challenges
  3. TikTok provides easy content creation, sharing, and viewing
  4. TikTok appeals to short attention spans
  5. TikTok is fun and creative
  6. TikTok videos are easy to create
  7. TikTok offers the potential for fame
  8. TikTok allows you to use copyrighted music
  9. TikTok constantly has new trends
  10. Celebrities are taking a huge interest

why does tiktok take so much space

Why does TikTok Take So Much Space on My Phone?

TikTok, like many other social media apps, utilizes a mechanism called caching to improve user experience. It temporarily stores data such as video clips, images, and other user-related information for quicker access. Over time, this cache data can accumulate, leading to significant storage use. Therefore, it is better for you to regularly clear your cache as it can help prevent TikTok from taking up too much space on your phone.

How Much Space does TikTok Take Up?

It is important to mention that when you download the Tiktok app from Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store, the file size of TikTok is quite small. So, in short,

  • On the iOS App Store, the TikTok app takes about 496.6 MB on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
  • On Google Play, the TikTok app is taking only 94 MB

What Factors Contribute to TikTok’s Size?

There are several factors that contribute to the size of TikTok on your device. However, the leading 2 factors that take up so much space are Tiktok Cache and the Tiktok Draft.

Moreover, a cache is a collection of files used in order to help the app load faster and speed up certain areas of the app, such as TikTok search. However, these files are not that important as TikTok will redownload some of them later so that the cache can be safely cleared.

On the other hand, in the TikTok app, you create videos for others to see, and your drafts are not uploaded to TikTok’s servers. Instead, they remain stored on your phone. Therefore it adds up huge space if you have a lot of videos in your drafts.

How to Clear TikTok Storage? (6 Easy Fixes)

do tiktok drafts take up storage

Below are the 6 ways to clear Tiktok storage:

Fix 1: Clear your Watch History

First, in order to reduce storage in Tiktok on your iPhone or Android devices, then you must make sure to clear your watch history. It is worth mentioning that your TikTok watch history stores 7 days of videos you have watched on the app; therefore, this takes up a huge space in your phone storage.

Below are the steps to clear watch history in Tiktok:

Step 1: First, open your Tiktok app and then tap on profile at the bottom right corner

Step 2: Now, click on three horizontal lines

Step 3: Next, click on the settings and privacy, and then scroll down and click on the watch history

Step 4: Finally, click on the gear icon at the top right and tap on clear history

what takes up storage on tiktok

Fix 2: Delete your TikTok Drafts

So, if you are a Tiktok app creator, you will surely have a draft saved on Tiktok. So, this draft takes up a huge space in your device. Therefore, in order to clear Tiktok storage, you must delete your drafts. Below are the steps to delete Tiktok drafts:

Step 1: First, open your Tiktok app and then tap on profile at the bottom right corner

Step 2: Now, click on the Draft section and then click on any videos

Step 3: Next, choose the draft videos you want to delete and then click the delete option to delete the TikTok drafts.

how to clear tiktok storage

Fix 3: Clear Download on TikTok

The other major reason TikTok uses so much storage is that when you create many videos on Tiktok, you have downloaded videos on the app. So, in order to reduce the storage that TikTok takes, you must clear Download on TikTok.

Below are the steps to clear download on Tiktok:

Step 1: First, open your Tiktok app and then tap on profile at the bottom right corner

Step 2: Now, click on three horizontal lines

Step 3: Next, click on the settings and privacy, and then scroll down and click on the free up space and then tap on download to clear space

why does tiktok take so much data

Fix 4: Clear your TikTok Cache

TikTok cache also takes up some of your storage space. Therefore, in order to clear TikTok storage, you must clear the cache from the Tiktok app.

Below are the steps to clear the cache on Tiktok:

Step 1: First, open your Tiktok app and then tap on profile at the bottom right corner

Step 2: Now, click on three horizontal lines

Step 3: Next, click on the settings and privacy, and then scroll down and click on the free-up space and then tap on the cache to clear space

how much space does tiktok take up

Fix 5: Clear your TikTok Data

If you are using an Android device, you better clear the TikTok data, and then the TikTok size will reduce. However, once you clear the TikTok data, you must sign in to your account again, and you will get a large free storage space.

Below are the steps to clear Tiktok data:

Step 1: in order to clear the TikTok data, open your Android device settings and then go to the Apps and Notification section and then click on App Info

Step 2: Now, just find out the Tiktok among the list

Step 3: Next, click on storage and cache and then click on clear storage to clear Tiktok data

how much space does tiktok take up

Fix 6: Uninstall and Reinstall the TikTok App

Lastly, the best way to reduce the size of TikTok storage is to delete the Tiktok app and reinstall it again. So, when you reinstall the app again, all the TikTok files will be deleted from your device, including drafts, cache, and others.

How to Prevent Tiktok App Using So Much Storage in the Future?

Below are the 3 ways to prevent the Tiktok app using so much storage in the future:

1: Only Save What you Need

In the future, while using the Tiktok app, just make sure to save only the videos you need. As you are not required or bound to download every video on your watch history.

2: Clear Cache Files Regularly

In order to use the Tiktok app effectively in the future, make sure to clear cache files regularly in order to prevent future problems on the Tiktok.

3: Get More Storage on Your Mobile Device

Make sure to get more storage space on your device if you do not want TikTok to take up your storage.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are the FAQS about why does Tiktok takes so much storage:

Q1: Why does TikTok take so much space on my phone?

Ans: TikTok stores cache data, including video clips, images, and user-related information, which can take up considerable storage over time.

Q2: What kind of data does TikTok store?

Ans: TikTok stores cache data, user profile information, app settings, preferences, and draft videos.

Q3: How to decrease Tiktok storage consumption?

Ans: Below are the ways to reduce Tiktok storage consumption:

  1. Delete TikTok drafts
  2. Clear TikTok cache
  3. Clear TikTok data
  4. Clear Tiktok downloads
  5. Clear your TikTok watch history
  6. Uninstall and reinstall TikTok

Q4: How can you prevent TikTok from using so much storage in future?

Ans: Regularly clear your cache, delete unnecessary drafts, and adjust your data-saving settings.

Q5: Do TikTok drafts take up storage?

Ans: Yes, drafts on TikTok do use up storage space.

Q6: How to reduce TikTok storage on iphone?

Ans: Clear your cache, delete unnecessary drafts, and adjust your data-saving settings in the app.

Q7: How do I free up storage on TikTok?

Ans: There are various ways to free up storage space on TikTok. So, to free up storage on Tiktok, just clear the cache, clear the data, clear all downloads, clear watch history, delete drafts, or even uninstall and reinstall the app. After that, your issue of storage space will be resolved.

Q8: Why does my TikTok app take up so much storage?

Ans: The major reason why your TikTok app takes up so much storage space is the wide usage of the app, and the cache, data, watch history, and download has gathered. So, the more you use the Tiktok app, the more storage it takes.

Q9: What Kind of Data Does TikTok Store?

Ans: Beyond caching, TikTok stores various types of data. This includes user profile information, preferences, app settings, and draft videos, each contributing to the total storage used by the app.

Q10: Do TikTok Drafts Take Up Storage?

Ans: Yes, TikTok drafts can take up a substantial amount of storage. These are the videos that you have created but have not posted yet. If you have many drafts saved, you might want to consider deleting the ones you do not plan to post.

Q11: What is a cache on TikTok?

Ans: A cache on TikTok consists of temporary data stored by the app to expedite the loading of frequently accessed content. While useful, cache data can grow quite large over time.

Q12: How to reduce Tiktok’s size on your device?

Ans: Below are the ways to reduce Tiktoks size on your device:

  1. Delete your Tiktok cache
  2. Delete your Tiktok drafts
  3. Delete your Tiktok download
  4. Delete your Tiktok watch history
  5. Delete your Tiktok data
  6. Delete and redownload Tiktok

Q13: Do TikTok drafts take up iPhone storage?

Ans: Yes, TikTok drafts take up iPhone storage as much as 16g of storage or even more!

Q14: What takes up storage on TikTok?

Ans: The things that are taking up storage on your phone are: undeleted drafts, uncleared data from the cache, excessive downloads (filters, effects, stickers, and virtual gifts), etc.

Q15: Where are TikTok files stored?

Ans: It is worth mentioning that the TikTok files are stored in your phone’s cache, whereas downloads will directly go to your phone’s storage.

Q16: Does clearing the cache on TikTok delete drafts?

Ans: It is pertinent to mention that clearing the cache on TikTok does not delete drafts as drafts are saved in various places than cache files. So, clearing the cache will not affect the draft. However, if you want to clear your Tiktok drafts, then you can delete them individually.

Q17: Does deleting the TikTok cache free up storage space?

Ans: Yes, definitely deleting the TikTok cache frees up storage space which will greatly help the Tiktok app run more smoothly.

Q18: What happens if I clear Tiktok data?

Ans: When you clear your TikTok cache, you remove any temporary data stored on your device. The data can be past searches, account visits, or even watch history. Therefore, clearing the cache will not delete your videos or impact your regular TikTok experience, but it will clear up space on your mobile device if you run out of storage.

Q19: Do drafts take up storage on TikTok?

Ans: Yes, the number of videos you create but do not upload to the platform ultimately takes up space on your device.

Conclusion

While TikTok’s cache and data storage can take up a substantial amount of space on your phone, regularly clearing your cache, deleting unnecessary drafts, and adjusting your data-saving settings can significantly reduce its storage footprint. Managing your TikTok storage effectively allows for a smoother, more enjoyable app experience.