TikTok: ad settings

Last checked: 19 Oct 2026

TikTok's free settings change how your ads are chosen, not how many you see. In the UK, TikTok is also asking everyone to choose between using it free with ads or paying £3.99 a month for no ads.

Settings on the free version

Personalised adsAds continue, less personalised

Turn it off and TikTok stops using your activity, and activity that advertisers share with it, to choose your ads. TikTok says you'll still see ads, but they may be less relevant to you.

On the website: profile photo → Settings → Ads → Personalised ads. In some places the switch is called "Targeted ads". In the US, TikTok says the switch covers data from its advertising partners, and you'll always see ads based on what you do on TikTok.

Source ↗

Clear activity from other apps and websitesRelated setting

Clears the activity that advertising partners have shared with TikTok about you. TikTok says it can take up to 30 days to be disconnected from your account.

You can do it once every 24 hours. Disconnect advertisers, on the same screen, stops individual advertisers' data being used.

Source ↗

Ad topicsRelated setting

Choose See less for topics you don't want ads about. TikTok says changes can take up to 48 hours.

Source ↗

Mute advertisersRelated setting

No ads from that advertiser for 28 days.

Source ↗

These are the paths in TikTok's general help pages. TikTok's UK pages put the same settings under Settings and privacy → Plan and ads, which UK users may see once they've made the choice below.

UK: free with ads, or TikTok Ad-Free

TikTok says that by 11 November 2026, UK users will be asked to choose:

TikTok Standard (with ads): free. TikTok says you'll get personalised ads, based on what you tell it, what you do on TikTok and, depending on your settings, your activity on partners' apps and websites. TikTok says that on the free version "you can't opt out of seeing all ads".
TikTok Ad-Free: paid, details below.

TikTok Ad-Free

TikTok Ad-Free (UK)Removes ads (paid)

TikTok says you won't see ads on the app or website, and your information won't be used to show you ads while you're subscribed. £3.99 a month, paid through the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

TikTok's announcement says it's for UK accounts aged 18 or over. You may still see videos from businesses and TikTok Shop products, which aren't paid ads. To cancel: the app store, or Settings and privacy → TikTok Ad-free → Cancel your subscription; it stays active until the next billing date.

Source ↗

TikTok says that if you don't want either option, you can download your data or delete your account. To download it: Profile → Menu → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data (TikTok).

TikTok's ads in other apps (UK)

TikTok also shows ads inside other companies' apps, such as games and news apps, through the TikTok Ad Network. TikTok says you only see them in an app if you agreed in that app's consent pop-up, and saying no there applies to that app only (TikTok). TikTok says it keeps this data for up to 18 months.

To opt out everywhere, use TikTok's privacy request form and choose "I want to opt out of TikTok Ad Network using my data". TikTok says it then stops using your data for these ads and deletes it, unless it has to keep it by law.

United States

TikTok in the US is run by TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. Its US privacy policy says it doesn't sell your personal information or share it for cross-context advertising "where restricted by applicable law", and points to the Ads settings above. We didn't find a paid no-ads option on TikTok's US pages. The policy says TikTok doesn't respond to Do Not Track signals.

Sources

This page describes your options and how organisations say they handle requests. It isn't legal advice. See About & sourcing to report a correction.