You’ve Synched Contacts On TikTok. Can You Unsync Them?

When you signed up for a TikTok account, the system asked if you wanted to “sync” your account with the contacts you have stored in your phone and with all of your friends on Facebook. It sounded like a fast and easy way to connect with lots of people you know on the social media platform, so you agreed.

Now, you’re having second thoughts.

You’re getting DMs from old friends you no longer consider to be friends. You’re getting bombarded with follow requests from people you can’t easily identify, and it turns out they’re just a plumber or handyman you called once. You learn that people you know casually are annoying in large doses. The system is suggesting your TikTok account to friends of friends.

You also realize that you may not want your passing acquaintances to see all of your TikTok posts in their feeds. And you might be growing concerned about protecting your privacy and data security on the platform — thinking that giving an app full access to data on your phone might not have been such a great idea.

The concept of syncing contacts, in other words, may not be as cool as it first sounded. In reality, it can open a Pandora’s box. Is there any way to reverse your initial decision?

There is, and the process of unsyncing your contacts is simple.

How to Unsync Contacts on TikTok

There are actually a few TikTok settings you should change to avoid all of the problems we’ve listed. Here’s what to do.

1. Open your TikTok profile by tapping the “Profile” icon at the bottom right of your home screen.
2. Open the profile menu by clicking on the Menu icon (three horizontal bars) at the top right of your profile.
3. Select “Settings and privacy” from the pop-up window that appears, and then choose “Privacy” from the list of options.
4. A new page will open. First, tap on “Suggest your account to others” and make sure the toggles for “Contacts” and “Facebook friends” are off.
5. Hit the back button to return to the Privacy page, and tap “Sync contacts and Facebook friends.” Make sure that both “Sync contacts” and “Sync Facebook friends” are toggled off, and then click “Remove previously synced contacts.” Choose “Remove” on the confirmation page, and you’re done.

If you have another change of heart and want to sync your contacts again, just return to those settings and toggle them “on.” You’ll be back to where you started.