TikTok could be removed from your iPhone unless you disable this setting

Those who are lucky enough to have TikTok installed on their iPhone should disable this setting if their storage is getting full.

TikTok’s ban in the US took effect on January 19, 2025, but President Trump signed an order the next day postponing enforcement of the law until April 5.

Despite that, ByteDance-owned apps like TikTok, CapCut, and Lemon8 are no longer available to download on the Apple or Google App Stores. This means that if you get a new phone for whatever reason, you won’t be able to download the app again.

That’s not the only way you can lose access to TikTok on your phone, however. If you like to live on the edge and your phone’s storage is constantly full, this iOS setting may remove the app entirely.

Pexels: greenwish _

TikTok users should disable this iOS setting

In the settings menu for the Apple App Store, you’ll notice an option to “offload unused apps” when your storage gets full.

This allows iOS to automatically remove some of your installed apps when your storage is full, giving you room to take an impromptu picture or even a short video depending on the size of the app.

“When you’re low on storage, you can have iPhone automatically remove unused apps,” Apple says.

What Apple doesn’t tell you, however, is how long TikTok has to be unused before the App Offload function will uninstall it from your phone. Once it’s uninstalled, you won’t be able to get it back until Apple puts TikTok back into the App Store.

So, if don’t want to lose TikTok, here’s how to disable the app stores App Offload feature:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > App Store
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu and find the “Offload Unused Apps” toggle
3. Turn it off

Likely, Apple won’t add TikTok or any other ByteDance-owned app back to the App Store until ByteDance sells off its shares of the company. It’s unknown if that sale will take place before the April 5, 2025 deadline, but if it does, YouTube sensation MrBeast could become a co-owner.