How To Get A TikTok Video Taken Down (Full Guide)

Is there a video that you want taken down on TikTok?

Whether it’s someone else’s video or even one of your own that you’re not able to delete (for example, losing the password the account), don’t worry!

Having a video taken down is very easy, and can be done completely on your own without the help of other people.

In this article, I’ll show you everything you need to know in order to have videos taken down on TikTok.

How TikTok’s Removal System Works

Before understanding how to get a video removed on TikTok, it’s important to understand a little bit about how the moderation and removal system works.

When a video is first uploaded to TikTok, it is first scanned by TikTok’s automated AI systems in order to detect rule-breaking behavior, or content within the video.

Videos that contain content which violate the community guidelines in an obvious manner (for example, showing extreme violence, or a person without clothing) will get taken down automatically, likely before anyone ever sees it.

Once their system believes that a video is safe to push out to people, it will finally start appearing in people’s following and For You feeds.

If a video is reported, it may be temporarily removed or completely unaffected until a human moderator decides to review the video for community guidelines violations.

Only then will further action be taken.

Thankfully, there is a lot that you can do to affect this. Details will be shared below!

How To Get Someone Else’s TikTok Taken Down

Now that we know a little about how TikTok’s moderation system works, we can use this information to help it work in our favor.

Let’s look over some ways you can get a video taken down quickly!

1. Report The Video

This one sounds obvious, but it’s the first step.

Once a video has passed TikTok’s automated systems, the only way to begin the process of having it taken down is to actually report the video.

This can be done by tapping on the ‘Share’ button on the bottom-right of the screen, and then tapping on ‘Report’ on the new window that pops up.

From there, you’ll be prompted to select the reason why you’re reporting the video – which rule you think it’s breaking.

Be sure to select an accurate reason, as TikTok may automatically filter out or deprioritize future reports from you if you’ve been known to file false reports.

If you aren’t sure of the violation or the reason you’re reporting them isn’t listed, select ‘Other’ and follow the on-screen instructions.

Note that if someone is impersonating you, you’ll need to report their profile instead, rather than the specific video. We’ll talk more about this later on.

2. Encourage Others To Do The Same (And Here’s Why!)

Many people don’t know this, but one report is enough to get a TikTok video taken down.

Once a single person reports a video, it is sent off to a moderation queue for human moderators to review. Once it’s reviewed by a human, a judgement will be made on whether or not it violates any of TikTok’s community guidelines.

The outcome of this will be the same regardless if one person reports it, or hundreds.

What may be affected however is the speed of the review.

If you can get multiple people all to report a video at once, it’s possible that TikTok may take this as a sign that they need to review the video even more quickly, before more people see it.

So, additional reports may cause the video to jump further ahead in the queue, ensuring that it gets seen more quickly.

While mass reporting won’t ensure a video gets taken down, it may ensure that it gets reviewed more quickly. Again, the outcome will be the same regardless – but the quicker you can get a TikTok taken down, the better!

What To Do If The TikTok Video Is Yours

In some instances, the video that you want to be taken down may be yours.

For example, it could be that someone reposted one of your videos to their page, or you posted the video on an account that you no longer have access to.

While deleting one of your normal videos is as easy as pressing the share button on that video and then hitting delete, this isn’t what we’re talking about here. If you don’t have access to the account that posted the video, doing this will be impossible.

So, how do you get a TikTok taken down if the video is yours, but you don’t have access to the account that posted it?

It varies depending on the situation. Let’s look over each one of them now.

1. What To Do If Someone Is Impersonating You

TikTok has a special reporting option for accounts that are impersonating other people.

In order to report someone for impersonation, you’ll need to report their profile, not their videos themselves.

This can be done by going to their profile, and tapping on the icon with three dots in the top-right corner.

On the new window that pops up, tap on the ‘Report’ button. Then, select ‘Report account.’

On the following menu, select ‘Pretending to Be Someone’ as the report option, and then select ‘Me.’

After that, follow the on-screen instructions to continue with the report.

2. What To Do If You Lost Access To The Account

Let’s say you previously posted videos yourself, but have since lost access to the account. Because of that, you’re unable to login to delete them. What should you do?

According to TikTok’s privacy policy, you have the right to request deletion of your data at any time.

Although this is easiest to do directly within the TikTok app, you can also contact TikTok to have them do it as well.

While the first thing you should do is try to recover or reset your password, this isn’t always feasible. So, if you can’t regain access to the account, I recommend that you contact TikTok for assistance.

TikTok’s contact form can be found by clicking here.

On the form, select ‘General Account Inquiry’ as the topic, and then either ‘Recover Account’ or ‘Other’ depending on whether you want them to help you regain access to the account, or delete it.

If you wish for the account to be deleted, state so and provide as much detail as possible in your message.

Then, pay attention to your email for a response from TikTok, which may take several days. TikTok may need to verify information with you before they can proceed.

How Quickly Are Reports Processed On TikTok?

Now that we know how to properly report videos on TikTok, you may be wondering – how long will it take for the report to be processed?

The truth is, it depends.

For very serious offenses that are reported by a large number of people, videos can get taken down in as little as a few minutes.

However, if the video doesn’t have a lot of visibility and you’re the only person to report it, it’s possible it could take several days before its reviewed.

If you have a history of filing false reports on videos, it’s possible that it could take even longer. For more information on false reporting, check out this article on how to get someone’s TikTok account banned.

In any case, the best thing you can do is be patient, and trust that TikTok’s moderation team will be able to get to it as soon as they can.

Conclusion

Getting a TikTok video taken down is pretty straightforward.

Whether it’s your video or someone else’s, the exact process for having it taken down can be done in just a few moments once you know what to do.

I hope that you have found this article helpful, and that you’ll be able to take down the video you no longer want posted. If you have any questions about getting videos taken down on TikTok, please ask them using the comment form below.

Wishing you the best,

– James McAllister