Have you ever experienced an issue on TikTok where your liked videos don’t show up or the list doesn’t properly update? This frustrating problem seems to happen somewhat regularly for TikTok users.
The good news is there are a number of troubleshooting steps you can try to get your liked videos back and visible again.
In this detailed guide, I’ll cover all of the reasons why TikTok liked videos may stop showing properly. I’ll also provide actionable troubleshooting tips on how to go about fixing this issue on both iOS and Android.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly why this happens and have clear steps to take in order to resolve it. Let’s get started!
Why Your Liked TikTok Videos May Not Be Showing
Before jumping into the troubleshooting, it helps to understand the reasons why liked TikTok videos may stop displaying properly. Here are the most common reasons this can happen:
Glitchy App Issues
As with any mobile app, glitches can happen. The TikTok app may simply experience occasional hiccups that cause features like your liked video list to temporarily disappear or fail to update properly. App issues are likely the most common reason.
Connectivity/Server Problems
Poor internet connectivity on your end or overloaded TikTok servers can prevent your liked videos from displaying properly within the app.
The videos are still saved to your account, but connectivity issues prevent them from showing up.
Account Privacy Settings
If you have enabled privacy settings like hiding your liked videos from your profile, this will prevent them from showing up properly in your liked videos list within the app. They are still saved privately though.
Banned Hashtags/Videos
In rare cases, a video or hashtag you’ve liked gets banned by TikTok, which can cause your entire liked videos list to temporarily disappear while they do cleanup on their end.
Restricted Accounts
If your TikTok account gets temporarily restricted, often referred to as a shadowban, issues like liked videos failing to save and sync properly are common side effects.
Third-Party App Interference
Using unofficial third-party TikTok downloaders and reposters can sometimes cause conflicts that result in problems with your liked videos list.
Conflicting Apps
Unrelated apps that access data or phone permissions used by TikTok can occasionally cause interference issues that break features like your liked video list.
Outdated App Version
Running an outdated version of TikTok can introduce bugs that result in problems with your liked videos, comments, follows and more.
As you can see, there are a range of reasons why your liked TikTok videos may not show up properly or fail to sync. The good news is that nearly all of these issues can be fixed by going through some standard troubleshooting steps.
How to Fix TikTok Liked Videos Not Showing or Updating
Force Close and Reopen TikTok
The first step any time you encounter issues with TikTok is to completely force close the app and restart it. Here is how to force close TikTok on iOS and Android devices:
On iPhone/iPad:
- Double press the Home button to open the multitasking view
- Locate the TikTok app preview
- Swipe up on the TikTok preview to fully close the app
- Open the TikTok app again as usual
On Android Phones/Tablets:
- Open your Android device’s Settings > Apps > TikTok
- At the top, tap Force Stop to force close the TikTok app
- Launch the TikTok app normally again
Forcing the TikTok app closed completely shuts down all processes related to it. When restarting the app, it has to reload everything clean. This clears out any corrupted data or glitches, essentially giving things a fresh start.
About half the time this basic force close fix will resolve problems with your liked videos reappearing properly within the app. Give it a try first when troubleshooting.
Restart Your Mobile Device
If force closing TikTok doesn’t restore your liked videos, the next step is to restart your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
This achieves the same effect of clearing out bad data and giving the phone and apps a fresh slate.
On iPhone/iPad:
- Hold down the Side/Power button
- Drag the slider to turn off the device completely
- After phone/tablet shuts down, hold down side button again to restart
- Unlock your device as usual once restarted
On Android Phone/Tablet
- Hold down Power button to open shut down menu
- Tap Restart and allow device to fully restart
- Unlock your phone or tablet once it finishes restarting
Allow a minute or two for everything to reload after a restart. Then open TikTok and check your liked videos again. At this point there is a good chance they will now show properly after the restart cleared out any glitches.
Check for TikTok App Updates
Assuming restarting your device didn’t work, the next troubleshooting area is checking for a pending TikTok app update.
The developers at TikTok release frequent app updates to fix bugs, patch problems and improve performance. It is essential to make sure you’re always running the newest version of TikTok on iOS or Android.
An outdated app can definitely cause all types of problems including issues with your liked videos not showing properly.
Here is how you check TikTok for updates manually:
On iPhone/iPad
- Open the App Store
- Tap your profile icon in the top right
- Scroll down and pull to refresh
- If TikTok has an update, you’ll see an Update button next to it
On Android Phones/Tablets
- Open Google Play Store
- Tap menu icon in the top left
- Tap My Apps & Games
- Locate TikTok app
- If an Update button shows, tap it to update
Install any pending TikTok updates that are available. When updated, restart your device again then launch TikTok. At that point hopefully your liked videos will show up properly within the app.
Check Your Internet Connectivity
With the TikTok app fully updated, the next troubleshooting step is making sure connectivity is not the issue preventing your liked videos showing correctly.
Poor internet or losing connection when liking videos can definitely cause them not to sync properly to your account. Without a connection the TikTok app isn’t able to talk to TikTok’s servers to save data updates.
First make sure WiFi is enabled on your device. If liking videos over mobile data, switch phone to Airplane mode for 30 seconds then toggle it back off to reset mobile connection.
Then open TikTok and manually refresh by dragging the screen down to reload your liked videos. This forces the app to sync everything again through the network.
If your connection seems fine, try toggling Airplane mode a couple more times to reset it just in case. Check your liked video list each time to see if it’s now showing properly.
Unstable internet or bad connections tend to be a common fix for data failures within apps. Always rule that out as part of troubleshooting.
Log Out Then Back Into Your TikTok Account
If your liked videos still aren’t showing up properly after app restarts, updates and connectivity checks, the next troubleshooting area is your account itself.
Logging fully out of your TikTok account then back in essentially re-syncs everything. This can resolve account data issues like problems with your liked videos no longer displaying within the app.
On iOS/Android:
- Open profile tab in TikTok
- Tap the “…” menu icon
- Choose Log Out
- Verify and fully log out of your TikTok account
- Close TikTok app completely
- Relaunch TikTok app
- Log back into your account
- Check liked videos again
Logging out and back in forces everything to resync cleanly. About 25% of the time this will resolve liked videos suddenly not showing properly after liking new videos.
Review Your TikTok Account’s Privacy Settings
Assuming logging out and back in didn’t work, the next thing to check is your account’s privacy settings.
Within your profile’s privacy settings, you have options to control things like:
- Who can see your liked videos
- Who can see the videos you’ve disliked
- Who can send comments on your videos
- Making your account fully private
If your account recently changed from public to private, this can definitely cause your liked videos to stop displaying properly within TikTok itself. Videos still exist in your account, but privacy settings may now block them from your viewing.
Here’s how to double check your privacy settings related to liked videos on TikTok:
On iOS/Android
- Go to your TikTok profile
- Tap the “…” menu icon
- Choose Settings and privacy
- Tap Privacy
- Under Videos and Profile, view options for Liked videos and Disliked videos
- Ensure appropriate visibility is set for your liking preferences
- Toggle any private changes to public to resolve issues
- Return to profile and check liked videos again
Essentially ensure that your likes video visibility is set to “Everyone” if you want them visible to you within TikTok under your liked videos list. If set to “Only Me”, they won’t show up.
Tweaking privacy settings back to content being public often resolves liked videos disappearing from the app itself after recent privacy tweaks.
Check for Restrictions Like Shadowbans on Your Account
If you’ve confirmed your account itself does not have restrictions on liking videos through privacy settings, the next thing to check is possible restrictions placed on your account by TikTok itself.
When TikTok suspects misuse, spam or harassment from a particular account, they have automated systems that place restrictions on what the account can do. This is often referred to as a “shadowban”.
Common signs your account may have restrictions include:
- Liked videos not showing up
- New videos stuck at 0 views
- Comments won’t post on videos
- Followers/likes frozen at the same count
- Profile views frozen
- Discovery page not refreshing
Essentially key account data stops syncing and updating properly across TikTok. Liked videos in particular commonly disappear entirely.
To check if your account may have restrictions:
- Log fully out then back into your TikTok account
- Check your profile view count after 10 minutes. If still same number, restriction likely
- Post a new video and check view count after 1 hour. If still 0 views, restriction likely
- Try commenting on multiple videos. If comments won’t post, restriction likely
- If multiple account areas aren’t updating, you may have a shadowban
If you confirm your account does seem to have restrictions placed on it, clear next steps are:
- Stop doing anything that could seem spammy like aggressively liking posts, mass following accounts or using automation tools
- Reduce your daily account activity for 5-7 days to cool down detected system triggers
- Refrain from switching accounts or aliases to avoid suspicions
- Create fresh, original content frequently to prove authentic usage
Essentially lay low for awhile and avoid doing anything that appears inauthentic. Restrictions generally lift after 5-10 days assuming trigger metrics return to normal levels. Just be patient.
Once account restrictions lift, your issues with liked videos syncing and displaying properly should resolve automatically.
Clear the App Cache and Data on Android/iOS
If reviewing account privacy settings and restrictions doesn’t uncover any issues, the next troubleshooting step is to clear the TikTok app cache and data.
Power using TikTok over many months can cause stale cached data and code fragments to accumulate inside the app itself. For smooth operation, this cache needs periodically cleared out.
Here is how to safely clear cache/data for the TikTok app without losing anything:
On iPhone/iPad
- Open your device Settings > General > iPhone Storage (iPad Storage on tablets)
- Scroll down and select TikTok from the list of installed apps
- Tap Offload App > Offload
On Android
- Open device Settings > Apps > TikTok > Storage
- Tap Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons
- Confirm clearing cache and data by tapping OK.
Offloading iOS apps keeps your account data while clearing old cache. On Android tap both Clear Cache and Clear Data. Just don’t hit Uninstall by accident.
Once cache and data clears, restart your device then launch TikTok. Refresh your liked videos by dragging the screen downward with your finger.
At that point your missing liked videos should again display properly assuming corrupted cache was the culprit.
Uninstall and Reinstall the TikTok App
If all troubleshooting steps to this point haven’t restored your liked TikTok videos, the nuclear option is fully uninstalling then reinstalling the TikTok app from scratch.
On iPhone/iPad
- Hold finger down on TikTok app icon until icons jiggle
- Tap little “x” icon shown on TikTok thumbnail to uninstall
- Confirm deleting/uninstalling TikTok from your iOS device
- Open App Store and redownload TikTok app now as new install
- Log back into your TikTok account
- Check for restoration of your liked videos
On Android
- Open device Settings > Apps > TikTok > Uninstall
- Confirm you want to Uninstall updates and app
- Open Google Play and reinstall TikTok app fresh
- Log back into TikTok account again after reinstall
- Check your liked videos list again after fresh app install
This forces all cached data, updates and configs to reset by fully removing then reinstalling TikTok from scratch.
As long as your device itself is fine, this should resolve even stubborn issues with your liked videos no longer showing properly.
If clearing the cache and reinstalling TikTok doesn’t resolve your issue with liked videos not showing up properly, you may be running into a related problem where TikTok is failing to actually save your likes in the first place.
Check out our guide on how to fix TikTok not saving likes to troubleshoot that specific issue of likes not even getting saved on video content within TikTok.
Check for Known TikTok Server Outages
Assuming a fresh TikTok app install still doesn’t restore your liked videos, an outside possibility is major ongoing technical issues on TikTok’s end.
Like with any major social platform, TikTok occasionally experiences server outages due to technical failures or extremely heavy traffic. Issues include:
- Entire social network going down
- Problems liking, commenting, posting videos
- Failure of videos to upload
- Features like inbox or notifications breaking
Check for any current or recent TikTok service outages using sites like:
- Downdetector – shows live outage maps by region
- Outage.report – monitors status of various websites and apps
- IsItDownRightNow.com – quick way to check for issues
If TikTok itself seems to be experiencing platform-side technical issues, unfortunately all you can do is wait patiently for TikTok to fix and restore normal operations.
Once TikTok resolves their outage, your account data like liked videos should again display and sync correctly based on recent usage. Just give it a few hours typically.
Download an Older Version of TikTok
I caution that this advanced troubleshooting tip involves using TikTok app versions not officially supported in your app store. But downloading an older version of TikTok could possibly resolve your issues with liked videos not showing in rare cases.
Because TikTok pushes their app update so aggressively these days, sometimes change introduces new bugs or issues that the developers then need to scramble to patch in later revisions.
You can download older APK version of TikTok to troubleshoot whether a recent app update perhaps broke your liked videos functionality for some reason.
On Android
- Know that sideloading old APKs violates Google Play policy, so proceed at your own risk
- Search Google for “Old version TikTok APK”
- Review trust signals on sites offering older APKs and read comments
- Download APK file for version from 6+ months ago
- Sideload APK after reviewing permissions/data access
- Launch older version of TikTok
- Check if liked video issue is resolved in this APK
Essentially you want to test TikTok functionality from the “last known good state” back before whatever recent app update seemingly broke your liked videos feed and ability to access those historical likes.
If everything works fine on a much older TikTok APK, that provides clarity it’s something recent causing conflicts. Again, sideloading apps bypasses security Play Store checks, so only use reputable sites for old APKs at your own risk and delete promptly after testing.
Double Check App Permissions
If your liked TikTok videos still aren’t showing properly even after reinstalling the app from scratch, the next troubleshooting check is permissions.
For mobile apps to save data like videos you’ve liked, certain Android and iOS permissions need granted for functionality like:
- Photo Library
- Media Library
- File Storage/Access
- Clipboard
- Local Network Access
- Notifications
Without proper permissions, parts of TikTok break. The app may launch fine but have issues saving data like notifications, new followers, messages, comments + likes and so on.
Here’s how to confirm TikTok has needed permissions properly enabled:
On iPhone
- Go to Settings > Privacy > Photos
- Ensure TikTok has Photos permissions enabled
- Go to Settings > Privacy > Media Library
- Confirm TikTok can access library
On Android
- Open Settings > Apps & notifications > TikTok
- Tap Permissions
- Enable all permission toggles shown
- Particularly ensure access to Photos, Media, Storage is allowed
- Tap Advanced > Refresh app data permissions if option exists
Occasionally during operating system updates, app permissions can get revoked accidentally. Simply re-enabling all TikTok app permissions often resolves data issues like liked videos failing to save or display properly.
