TikTok, the vertical video-sharing platform with more than 170 million users in the United States may go dark on January 19. The decision comes after the Supreme Court's unanimous 9-0 decision on Friday citing concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to spy on millions of American citizens. While Donald Trump has previously tried to ban the app during his previous administration, he has indicated his willingness to intervene and that his team is currently reviewing the situation. If you are on TikTok and are looking for a way to back up your data before the app goes dark, here's how to download it. How to backup your TikTok data As it turns out, the only way to download all your data on TikTok is using the mobile app as there is currently no way to do it from the web app. To do so, simply launch TikTok on your phone or tablet, head over to your profile page and click on "Settings and Privacy". On the screen that appears, tap on Account, scroll down a bit and you will find an option named "Download your data." Before you can download all your data, you must request a copy of your data from all the TikTok apps. Keep in mind that the process takes anywhere between a few minutes to hours. When your data is available, TikTok will ask if you want to download the data in TXT or JSON format. Keep in mind that the package is only available for four days from the time you request it. TikTok says that the data sent by them is not always comprehensive and that the platform will send data that "affects the privacy of others." Also, all your saved videos will be available in the form of links, and not as video files. For those wondering, the downloaded TikTok data includes information like the names of accounts you follow, comments left on other people's pages, and direct messages. Apparently, the platform also saves your shopping habits and the number of vouchers you missed out on. If you are trying to save all your favourite videos on TikTok, unfortunately, the only way to do so without paying money is by individually saving them on your device. To do so, select the video you want, tap on the Share button that appears on the right side of the screen and press on "Save video." The same process applies to photos as well.
