How to Unlink a Product from a TikTok Video

Linked the wrong product to your big viral hit on TikTok? Or maybe an item featured in older content just went out of stock, and you need to remove the dead shopping link. It's a common and frustrating problem for creators and brands using TikTok Shop, but the fix is usually straightforward. This guide will walk you through exactly how to unlink a product from an existing TikTok video, step-by-step, and what to do if you run into any trouble.

Why You Might Need to Unlink a Product

While product tagging is a powerful feature for driving sales directly from your content, situations frequently pop up where a link needs to be removed. As your brand or content strategy evolves, you'll likely find yourself needing to manage old product links. A few common scenarios include:

• The Product is Out of Stock: This is the most frequent reason. Sending traffic to a sold-out product page creates a poor user experience and costs you potential sales. It's better to remove the link until the item is available again.
• It Was a Mistake: It happens. In the rush to publish, you might have accidentally selected the wrong product variation, the wrong item entirely, or a product you didn't intend to feature.
• The Campaign Has Ended: If the product was part of a limited-time promotion, a seasonal campaign, or a specific brand collaboration that has concluded, you'll want to remove the link to avoid confusion.
• Shift in Content Strategy: You might decide that an older video no longer aligns with your current brand focus. Unlinking the product can help you shift your audience's focus toward newer offerings without having to delete the content entirely.
• Supplier or Product Issues: If you're an affiliate or dropshipper, you might need to unlink a product because of a problem with the supplier, negative product reviews, or changes in your affiliate agreement.

Whatever the reason, keeping your product links current and accurate is just good social media management. It maintains trust with your audience and ensures your on-platform store is clean and functional.

Understanding Product Links in TikTok: A Quick Primer

Before jumping into the steps, it helps to know what you're working with. Product links are the tappable shopping bag icons and "View product" buttons that appear over your videos, allowing users to browse and buy directly within the app. Functionally, there are two primary ways you might be using these:

1. As a TikTok Shop Owner: You have your own TikTok Shop and are listing and selling your own brand's products. You have full control over your inventory and listings.
2. As a TikTok Shop Affiliate: You add products from other sellers' shops to your "Showcase" and earn a commission when someone makes a purchase through your video link. You don't manage the inventory yourself.

The good news is that the process for unlinking a product from a video is nearly identical whether you're the shop owner or an affiliate. The editing happens directly on the video itself, not within your Shop Manager or Affiliate Center.

How to Unlink a Product from an Existing TikTok Video

Let's get straight to it. If you need to remove a product link from a video that's already live on your profile, follow these steps carefully.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing a Product Link

1. Open the TikTok App and Go to Your Profile: Launch TikTok and tap the 'Profile' icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen to navigate to your main page.
2. Find the Video You Want to Edit: Scroll through your published videos and locate the one that contains the product link you want to remove. Tap to open it.
3. Access the Video Options Menu: On the right side of the screen, you'll see a series of icons (like, comment, save, etc.). Tap the three horizontal dots (...) located towards the bottom to open up the detailed options menu.
4. Locate 'Manage Products': A menu will slide up from the bottom. You will need to swipe left on the bottom row of gray icons (where you see options like 'Save video' and 'Duet'). Keep swiping until you see a shopping bag icon labeled 'Manage Products'. Tap on it. Note: The exact phrasing or icon might change slightly with app updates, but it will generally relate to 'Products', 'Shop', or 'Link'.
5. Edit Your Linked Products: Tapping 'Manage Products' will open a new screen showing all the products currently linked to that specific video. You'll see the product names and thumbnails.
6. Unlink the Product: To the right of each product name, you should see the word 'Edit'. Tap it. The screen will change, and now you will see a red minus circle icon to the left of the product thumbnail. Tap the red minus icon.
7. Confirm and Save: After tapping the minus icon, a 'Delete' button will appear on the right. Tap 'Delete' to remove the product from the list. Once you've removed all the necessary products, tap the 'Save' button at the bottom of the screen.

That's it! TikTok will process the change, and the shopping bag icon will disappear from your video. You can refresh your profile and watch the video again to confirm it's gone.

Troubleshooting: What to Do If You Can't Unlink a Product

Sometimes technology doesn't cooperate. If you're not seeing the 'Manage Products' option or are having other issues, here are a few things to try before you panic.

1. Update Your TikTok App

Social media apps release updates all the time to fix bugs and add features. If you're running an older version of TikTok, the editing functionality might be glitchy or missing. Head to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, search for TikTok, and see if there's an update available. A quick update often solves a world of problems.

2. The Video is a Paid Ad (Spark Ad)

This is a big one. If you have promoted the video using TikTok Ads Manager, your ability to edit it becomes restricted. You typically cannot edit the caption, sound, or product links of a post while it is actively running as an advertisement.

The Fix: You will need to go into your TikTok Ads Manager, find the campaign using that video, and pause or stop it. Once the ad is no longer active, you should be able to return to the organic video on your profile and get the 'Manage Products' option back. After you've unlinked the product, you can then decide if you want to create a new ad.

3. Account Glitches and General Bugs

Sometimes apps just act weird. Before going to more drastic measures, try these simple resets:

• Restart the App: Fully force-close the TikTok app on your device and relaunch it.
• Clear Your Cache: In TikTok, go to "Profile" &rarr, "Settings and privacy" &rarr, "Free up space" and tap 'Clear' next to Cache. This can resolve random bugs without affecting your drafts or account data.
• Restart Your Phone: The classic "turn it off and on again" solution works surprisingly often. A full reboot can clear temporary glitches impacting the app.

The Last Resort: Privatize and Re-Upload

If you've tried everything above and still can't remove the link, you have one final option. We call it the "nuclear option" because it has drawbacks, but it will get the job done.

1. Navigate to the video and tap the three dots (...).
2. Tap on 'Privacy settings' from the menu options.
3. Under 'Who can watch this video', change the setting from 'Everyone' to 'Only me'. Now, the public can no longer see it.

Now that the old video is hidden, you can re-upload the original video file, this time making sure not to add the product link before you post. The major downside here is that you will lose all the original video's engagement - the views, likes, comments, and saves will all be gone. This option is best reserved for situations where the incorrect link is causing significant brand damage or customer confusion.

Final Thoughts

Effectively managing your TikTok Shop is a continuous effort, and being able to quickly remove or edit product links from your videos is a non-negotiable skill. By following the steps above, you can confidently control the storefront you've built on your profile, making sure your audience always has access to the right products at the right time. When in doubt, a quick app update or a pause on an active ad campaign almost always solves the problem.

Having a solid content plan is a great way to avoid these kinds of mistakes in the first place. At a practical level, this is where we built Postbase to really shine. By using our visual calendar, you can map out your entire video strategy, including which products you'll feature for which campaigns, long before you ever hit 'publish.' This helps your team stay organized, letting you catch potential linking errors or stock issues ahead of time and keep your social media running smoothly.

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