TikTok’s data retention policies for ad campaigns are governed by a combination of the platform’s own internal data management practices and broader regional regulations, such as GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California. As an agency that has spent over $2 million on TikTok advertising in the past 12 months, we at Sagum have developed a practical understanding of how these policies affect campaign data.
Key Data Retention Timelines
TikTok retains ad campaign data for varying periods depending on the type of data and the legal requirements of the user’s location. Here is a breakdown based on our direct experience and TikTok’s published policies:
- Campaign Performance Data: Standard metrics like impressions, clicks, reach, and conversions are typically retained for at least 13 months within the TikTok Ads Manager interface. After this period, historical data may be aggregated and anonymized, but raw granular data can become inaccessible.
- User Engagement Data: Data tied to individual user interactions (e.g., video views, likes, shares) is kept for a maximum of 18 months after the last interaction, unless the user explicitly deletes their account or requests erasure. This aligns with industry norms for behavioral advertising.
- Audience and Pixel Data: TikTok Pixel data-used for retargeting and conversion tracking-is retained for 180 days after it is collected, unless you manually delete the pixel or events. This is shorter than Meta’s pixel retention, which can extend indefinitely. We recommend downloading your pixel event data regularly if you plan to build long-term audience models.
Compliance and User Rights
TikTok’s data retention is also shaped by legal frameworks that give users control over their information:
- GDPR Compliance: For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), TikTok must delete personal data within 30 days of a verified deletion request. Advertisers cannot retain this data beyond what is necessary for the specific campaign purpose.
- CCPA Compliance: In California, users can request access to or deletion of their data within 45 days of a verifiable request, with a possible 45-day extension.
- Account Deletion: If a user deletes their TikTok account, all associated personal data is permanently removed within 30 to 60 days, though some anonymized, non-personal data may remain for analytical purposes.
Best Practices for Advertisers
Given these retention windows, we recommend the following strategies to ensure you don’t lose critical insights:
- Export Data Regularly: Pull your campaign performance reports from TikTok Ads Manager at least monthly. We schedule automated exports to our custom BI dashboard (via Grow) to maintain a complete historical record beyond TikTok’s retention limits.
- Leverage Your Own CRM: Since TikTok pixel events expire after 180 days, sync offline conversions or first-party data back into your own systems. This gives you a durable asset for retargeting and attribution.
- Monitor Policy Updates: TikTok’s data policies evolve rapidly, especially under regulatory scrutiny. Stay in touch with your digital marketing manager to adapt your tracking and data storage practices accordingly.
The bottom line: while TikTok’s retention policies are generally aligned with industry standards, they are not as generous as platforms like Facebook or Google when it comes to long-term data access. At Sagum, we compensate for this by building redundancy into our data architecture-so you never lose sight of what’s working in your campaigns.
