How to Request and Download Your TikTok Data Export

TikTok lets you download a copy of your own account data: your profile details, your follower and following lists, activity such as your watch and search history, and more. It's a built-in feature under Settings and privacy, and it works in the iPhone and Android app and on tiktok.com.

This guide walks through the request step by step, explains which options to pick for what you want to do with the file, and covers the parts that trip people up: the wait, the 4-day download window and the ZIP file itself. The last part shows how to use the export to see who doesn't follow you back, without giving any app your TikTok password.

The app steps follow TikTok's Help Center as of September 2026. TikTok changes its settings screens from time to time, so if a label on your screen looks slightly different, pick the closest match.

The short version

Where (app)	Profile → Menu ☰ → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data
Where (browser)	tiktok.com/setting/download-your-data (log in first)
What to select	All data, or Custom with only the categories you need. For the unfollower check, the category with your follower and following lists must be included.
File format	JSON or TXT. There is no HTML option.
Waiting time	TikTok says it may take a few days. It's often faster.
Download window	Up to 4 days after the file is ready
What you get	A ZIP file

What the export contains, and what it doesn't

The export is a snapshot of your account at the moment TikTok builds the file. Depending on what you select, it includes:

Your follower and following lists. Each entry has a username and a date: when that person followed you, or when you followed them.
Profile details such as your username, bio and account settings.
Activity such as watch history, search history, likes and comments.
Direct messages, if you select them.
A list of your posts with links, not the video files themselves. To keep copies of your videos, save them separately.

What it doesn't contain:

A list of people who unfollowed you. TikTok doesn't record that in the export. You can only work it out by comparing two exports from different dates.
Display names or profile pictures of your followers. The lists contain usernames and dates only.
Your most recent activity, with certainty. TikTok says data from the last 24 to 48 hours may be missing.
Some data about other people. TikTok may leave out information that would affect someone else's privacy.

Step 1: Request your data in the TikTok app

The steps are the same on iPhone and Android.

Open TikTok and tap Profile at the bottom right.
Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top right, then tap Settings and privacy.
Tap Account, then Download your data. The screen has two tabs: Request data and Download data.
Stay on the Request data tab. Under Select data to download, choose all data, or switch to Custom and tick only the categories you want (see which options to choose).
Under the file format, choose JSON or TXT. TXT may be preselected, so check this before you continue.
Tap Request data at the bottom.

TikTok may ask you to confirm it's you, for example with your password or a code, before it accepts the request or before the download starts. That check happens inside TikTok. No other website needs your TikTok password for any part of this.

Step 1 on a computer (tiktok.com)

Log in at tiktok.com, then open tiktok.com/setting/download-your-data. The link goes straight to the right page.
Without the link: open Settings from the menu on tiktok.com and look for Download your data. Its position in the web settings has moved between versions of the site, and TikTok's Help Center only describes the app steps.
On the Request data tab, choose your data and file format, then click Request data.

If a request you made in one place doesn't show up on the Download data tab in the other, download it where you requested it.

Which options to choose

All data or only some categories?

Pick based on what you want the file for:

Your goal	What to select
A full personal backup	All data
Seeing who doesn't follow you back	All data is the simplest choice. With Custom, include the category that holds your follower and following lists. In recent JSON exports they sit under Profile and settings, but TikTok has renamed and moved categories before, so if you're unsure, select all data.
Looking at your watch or search history	The activity category
Keeping your messages	Direct messages

Selecting less keeps the ZIP smaller, which helps if you plan to open it on a phone. TikTok doesn't say whether smaller requests are prepared faster, so don't count on that.

JSON or TXT?

	JSON	TXT
What you get	One structured data file (`user_data_tiktok.json`)	Several plain text files, one per topic
Easy to read by eye?	Not really	Yes, in any text editor
Language	Field names are always English	File names and labels follow your app language
Good for	Tools, scripts, spreadsheets	Reading your data yourself

For the unfollowtool TikTok checker, both formats work. JSON is the safer choice, because its structure is the same in every app language. With TXT, the file names are translated: an English export contains Follower.txt and Following.txt, a Dutch one Volger.txt and Volgend.txt. The checker has been tested with real English and Dutch TXT exports. Other languages are supported on a best-effort basis; if one doesn't work, request the export again in JSON.

Step 2: Wait for TikTok to prepare the file

According to TikTok's Help Center, preparing the file may take a few days, and TikTok notifies you in the app when it's ready. Requests from newer accounts with little data are sometimes ready within minutes. There's no way to speed it up.

Check the status yourself. Open Download your data and switch to the Download data tab. While TikTok is still working, the request shows as Processing.
Picked the wrong options? On the Download data tab, tap Cancel next to the request, confirm with Delete request, and request again.
Want to see what the unfollower check looks like first? The TikTok checker has a Try with sample data button that loads made-up accounts.

Step 3: Download the ZIP

Go back to Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data (or the same page on tiktok.com).
Open the Download data tab.
Tap Download next to your finished request.
If TikTok asks you to verify it's you, for example with a code, complete that step.

The file stays available for up to 4 days. After that the Download button is gone and you need to request a new export.

Where the file ends up

Device	Where to look	Watch out for
iPhone / iPad	Files app → Browse → iCloud Drive → Downloads (or On My iPhone → Downloads). If a share sheet appears instead, choose Save to Files.	Tapping a ZIP in the Files app unpacks it into a folder. You don't need to do that.
Android	The Files app (for example Files by Google) → Downloads	No need to extract the ZIP.
Windows	Your Downloads folder	No need for Extract All.
Mac	Your Downloads folder	Safari may unpack ZIP files automatically ("Open 'safe' files after downloading") and move the ZIP to the Trash.

If your phone or Mac unpacked the ZIP

For the unfollowtool checker, a folder is fine too. You have three options:

On a computer: drag the whole folder onto the upload area of the TikTok checker. It searches the folder for the right files.
Select the files directly: for a JSON export, pick user_data_tiktok.json. For a TXT export, select Follower.txt and Following.txt together.
Zip it again: on iPhone, in the Files app tap Select, select the folder, tap More (…), then Compress. On a Mac, Control-click the folder and choose Compress. On Windows 11, right-click the folder and choose Compress to ZIP file; on Windows 10, choose Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder.

What's inside the ZIP

You don't need to open the ZIP, but it helps when something goes wrong. In a TXT export with English as the app language, the follower lists are in Follower.txt (people who follow you) and Following.txt (people you follow). Each entry looks like this:

Date: 2024-05-01 10:00:00 UTC
Username: example_username

In a JSON export, everything is in one file, user_data_tiktok.json. In recent exports, the lists sit under Profile And Settings, in a Follower and a Following section; older exports used other section names, such as Activity or Your Activity, and the checker reads those too. The entries have the same two pieces of information: a date and a username.

The ZIP also holds other personal details, such as your settings and, if you selected them, your messages and history. Treat it like any private document and only open it with tools you trust.

Use the export to see who doesn't follow you back

Your follower and following lists are both in the export, so you can compare them. The unfollowtool TikTok checker does this in your browser:

Open unfollowtool.com/tiktok/ on the device where your ZIP is.
Tap the upload area and pick the ZIP, or drag it onto the page. You don't need to unzip it first.
The results open on a separate page, split into lists: Don't follow you back, You don't follow back, Mutual (what TikTok calls friends), All following and All followers.
Each list can be searched, sorted (newest first, oldest first, A–Z or in the order of the export) and downloaded as a CSV file. Each entry shows the date from your export and has an Open link to the profile on TikTok.

The file is opened by JavaScript in your browser. The checker doesn't upload it and doesn't contact TikTok, and it can't change anything on your account. If you decide to unfollow someone, you do that yourself in the TikTok app. How the site handles cookies, analytics and ads is described in the privacy policy.

"Doesn't follow you back" is not "unfollowed you"

One export shows who doesn't follow you back right now. That list mixes accounts that never followed you (creators and brands, for example), accounts that followed you once and stopped, and accounts that were deactivated. Look at each profile before you act. Opening a profile is ordinary browsing on TikTok: if both of you have Profile view history turned on (it's off by default), that person can see your visit.

To find out who actually unfollowed you, you need a second export later. Keep Remember this result on this device checked when you run the check. The checker then stores the usernames from this analysis in your browser, on this device only. When you check a newer export in the same browser, it adds an Unfollowed you list and a New followers list for the time in between. Accounts in the Unfollowed you list may also have deactivated or restricted their account. Request both exports in the same format: a JSON export includes your own username and a TXT export doesn't, so the checker won't compare a JSON result with a TXT one. Delete saved history removes the saved lists. In a private browser window, the history is either not saved at all or deleted when you close the window.

Instructions for Instagram, Facebook and X exports are in the step-by-step tutorial. The TikTok section there is a short version of this guide.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
The request has shown Processing for days	That's within what TikTok says to expect. If nothing changes after about a week, cancel it and request again. If that doesn't help either, contact TikTok through the online form linked in its Help Center.
The Download button is gone	The 4-day window has probably passed. Request a new export.
TikTok asks for a password or code	That's TikTok's own security check. Complete it in the app or on tiktok.com.
The checker says "We couldn't find follower data in your upload."	The file isn't a TikTok export, or it's a TXT export without the follower files. Upload the complete ZIP, or request again with all data selected.
The checker says your export doesn't contain your following or followers list	Only part of the export was uploaded, or the category with your follower lists was left out. Upload the complete ZIP, or request again with all data selected.
The checker says the file "could not be opened as a ZIP file"	The download was probably interrupted. Download it again while the 4 days are still running.
The checker says the file is too large to open in your browser	The checker opens files up to 256 MB each, and with all data selected, `user_data_tiktok.json` can get larger than that. Request a new export in TXT format, which splits your data into separate, smaller files, or use Custom and select fewer categories, keeping the one with your follower lists.
The checker says this looks like an export from another platform	You picked an Instagram, Facebook or X export. The error message has a link that opens the checker for that platform.
Your follower count in the file differs slightly from your profile	The last 24 to 48 hours may be missing, and TikTok can leave out some data. A small difference is normal.

Common questions

How long does a TikTok data request take?

TikTok says it may take a few days. Small requests are sometimes ready within minutes, but there's no guaranteed time. You get an in-app notification, and you can check the status any time on the Download data tab. Once the file is ready, you have up to 4 days to download it.

Should I choose JSON or TXT?

For a backup you want to read yourself, TXT is easier. For the unfollowtool checker, both work, and JSON is the safer choice because it doesn't depend on your app language.

Can I cancel a data request?

Yes. Open Download your data, go to the Download data tab, tap Cancel next to the request and confirm with Delete request. You can request your data again at any time.

Does anyone get notified when I download my data?

No. The request only shows up in your own settings, and TikTok's Help Center mentions no notification to other people.

Does the export show who unfollowed me?

Not directly. It contains your follower and following lists as they were when TikTok built the file. To see who unfollowed you, you need two exports from different dates, compared either by hand or with the history feature of the TikTok checker.

Can I do all of this on my phone?

Yes. You can request, download and check the export on an iPhone or Android phone. The ZIP usually ends up in the Files app on iPhone and in the Downloads folder of the Files app on Android.