How to Download TikTok Photos and Slideshows

Photo posts, slideshows and photo videos

On TikTok, a "slideshow" can be one of two things, and they save differently:

• A photo post (TikTok calls this a photo post; people often say "carousel" or "slideshow"). You swipe sideways through the pictures, usually with music playing. Each picture is a separate image, and that's what you save: the photos themselves.
• A video made of photos. Some creators turn pictures into a video in an editing app before posting. It plays like any TikTok and you can't swipe it. That's a video, so you save it as an MP4, like in how to download TikTok without a watermark.

An easy way to tell: if you can swipe left and right through the pictures, or there are little dots under them, it's a photo post. If it just plays, it's a video. TapDownload works it out from the link, so you don't need to know, but it explains what you'll get.

How to save photos from TikTok in the app

TikTok's help page gives these steps for saving the pictures of a photo post:

1. In the TikTok app, go to the photo post you'd like to download.
2. Tap the Share button.
3. Tap Save photo. If there are several photos, tap Select all to save every one, or pick the ones you want.
4. Tap Save.

The pictures go to your phone's gallery. If there's no Save photo option, TikTok says the creator doesn't allow it. The same rule applies as for videos: when a creator turns off downloads, the button disappears for their posts.

How to download a TikTok slideshow from its link

Saving from the link works without the TikTok app, on a computer as well as a phone, and gives you each picture as it's stored on TikTok.

1. Copy the link. On the photo post, tap Share, then Copy link. Photo post links look like tiktok.com/@name/photo/..., and short vm.tiktok.com links work too.
2. Paste it into TapDownload. Open the TikTok downloader, paste the link and tap Download. TapDownload lists every photo in the post, in order.
3. Save one, or all of them. Tap Save under a photo to save just that one. To save them all, tap Download several, choose Everything, then Download ZIP. You get one ZIP file with every picture inside, numbered in the order of the post.

If you copied TikTok's whole share message rather than the bare link, paste it anyway: TapDownload finds the link inside the text. Links sent to you in WhatsApp, Messages or Instagram DMs work the same way, as long as the post is public.

Tap a photo to see it bigger first; the arrows move through the post like swiping in the app. That's handy for a long slideshow when you only want two or three of the pictures.

What size are the photos, and can you save TikTok photos without a watermark?

You get each picture at the size TikTok stores it, as a JPG. TapDownload doesn't shrink it, crop it or make it bigger. Photo posts are often around 1,200 pixels wide: one NASA photo post, for example, saved as five JPGs of 1206 × 1508 pixels each, about 0.5 MB apiece. Pictures that were posted small stay small.

There's no watermark on them. TapDownload saves the image files TikTok shows in its photo viewer, not a copy with a logo drawn on, so this is the way to save TikTok photos without a watermark and without cropping anything off the edges.

If you need another format, tap the sliders button next to Save on a photo. You can save it as PNG, or as WEBP where your browser supports it, at the original size or at 1080 or 720 pixels wide. The conversion happens in your browser.

Saving TikTok photos to your iPhone or Android gallery

• iPhone: in TapDownload's photo preview, press and hold a picture and tap Save to Photos. That puts it straight in your camera roll. If you tap Save instead, Safari puts the JPG (or the ZIP) in the Files app, in Downloads; open the JPG there and use Share, then Save Image. Tapping a ZIP in Files opens it into a folder.
• Android: saved JPGs go to Downloads, and Google Photos or your gallery app usually shows them right away. Tap a ZIP in your Files app to extract it.
• Computers: everything goes to the Downloads folder. Double-click a ZIP to open it.

The full iPhone walk-through, with the Files app steps, is in how to download TikTok videos on iPhone.

Download a TikTok slideshow on a computer

The TikTok app's Save photo option is on phones. On a Windows PC, a Mac or a Chromebook, the link is the way:

1. Open the photo post on tiktok.com. Public posts open without logging in.
2. Copy the address from the bar at the top.
3. Paste it into TapDownload, tap Download, then Download several, Everything and Download ZIP.
4. Open the ZIP from your Downloads folder. On Windows, right-click it and choose Extract All; on a Mac, double-click it.

The pictures come out numbered in the order of the slideshow, with the creator's username in the file names, so a folder of saved slideshows stays easy to sort. Big screens also make it easier to pick just the photos you want: tap one to open the preview, use the arrow keys to move through them, and save only those.

How to save TikToks as live photos or GIFs

TikTok's help page on download settings says that when a creator allows downloads, viewers can "convert your videos to live photos, GIFs". Look for those options in the share menu of a video in the app. They're for videos rather than photo posts.

TapDownload can make a GIF from any public video too: paste the video's link, tap the sliders button and choose GIF. It uses the first 10 seconds and has no sound.

Can you save the music from a slideshow?

Not from the photo post itself. A slideshow's music plays alongside the pictures but isn't stored with them in a video file, so there's nothing to convert. Tap the sound name at the bottom of the post to open the sound's page, then pick any video that uses the same sound and convert that one to MP3. How to do that is in how to download TikTok audio as MP3.

What to look for in a TikTok slideshow downloader

Search "TikTok slideshow downloader" and you'll find dozens of sites. Many do the job; some quietly do something else. Before you trust one with your time, check these:

• Each photo is its own file. Some tools turn a slideshow into a video or a single long screenshot. You want every picture as a separate JPG, at the size it was posted.
• It shows real sizes. A tool that lists each picture's width and height is telling you what you'll get. "HD" with no numbers usually means nothing.
• It never asks for your TikTok password. Public posts don't need a login. A site asking you to sign in to TikTok through it is a red flag.
• It doesn't need an app or a browser extension. A website is enough. Extensions can read every page you visit.
• It doesn't promise private posts. Private and friends-only posts aren't on the public web. A tool claiming it can open them isn't telling the truth.

TapDownload follows all five: one JPG per picture, the real width, height and file size in the save options, no login, nothing to install, and public posts only.

Keep the originals of your own photo posts

If you post photos to TikTok, the best copy is the one you took. TikTok stores pictures at the size it shows them, which can be smaller than what your camera made. So for your own posts:

• Keep the originals in your camera roll or cloud backup. They're sharper than anything you can get back from TikTok.
• Lost them? Save the post from its link, or use Share, then Save photo in the app. You'll get TikTok's copy, which is still a decent size, just not your original.
• Private account? TikTok keeps downloads off for private accounts and for anyone under 16, and a website can't open private posts. Use the app's Save photo on your own post while you're logged in, if TikTok offers it.

Why can't I save photos from a TikTok?

• The creator turned off downloads. In the app, Save photo disappears. Respect it, or ask the creator for the pictures.
• The account is private, or the post was deleted. Neither is on the public web, so there's nothing for a website to open. TikTok also doesn't let you download private posts in the app.
• It's a video, not a photo post. If TapDownload shows a video, the pictures were turned into a video before posting. Save the MP4.
• The link is to a profile or a sound. Copy the link from the post itself with Share, then Copy link.

Photos people post are theirs. Saving them to look at later is fine; before you repost someone's pictures, ask them, and credit them when you share. TapDownload isn't affiliated with TikTok.

Sources

• TikTok Support: Download content
• TikTok Support: Manage video downloads