Connect with us

Apple

Will updating to iOS 14 delete TikTok?

Does updating to iOS 14 run the risk of removing any of your apps?

Tiktok on iphone 11
Image: KnowTechie

When developers started using iOS 14 preview builds earlier this year, they noticed a weird notification every time they opened TikTok. That lead to the discovery that the new privacy controls in iOS 14 had spotted TikTok snooping on the user’s clipboard, seemingly every time the keyboard was used.

That was explained as a spam prevention method by the app’s maker, but did push out an update that stopped TikTok accessing the clipboard. If you were still on iOS 13, you won’t have seen the clipboard notifications at all.

Now with the public release of iOS 14, you might be wondering if updating your iPhone will remove any of your apps, particularly ones like TikTok that had been caught doing things that they perhaps shouldn’t have been, while also being the target of a ban in the United States. So, will Apple remove any apps when you upgrade to iOS 14?

So, will updating my iPhone to iOS 14 delete TikTok?

Short answer: No

Even with a U.S. ban on TikTok possible, Apple won’t be deleting it off of your devices, even if you upgrade to iOS 14. The ban only applies to new downloads of the app, and stopping TikTok’s owners from pushing updates to the app. The only way it might accidentally get removed is if when you’re upgrading to iOS 14 and you get a message saying “Temporarily Remove Apps to Install the Software Update.”

That normally deletes some of the larger apps to free up space for the update file, and then redownloads them from the App Store. If the app doesn’t exist in the App Store anymore, iOS can’t redownload it, resulting in the final removal of the app. That goes for other apps that Apple removes from the App Store, like the popular game Fortnite, removed during the ongoing legal fight between Apple and Epic Games.

If you don’t want to lose apps, clear out space manually by going to Settings > General > iPhone Storage until you can do the update.

What do you think? Glad to hear that iOS 14 won’t delete TikTok off of your device? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

Follow us on Flipboard, Google News, or Apple News

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in Apple