How to Download TikTok Videos

The four ways to save a TikTok video

"Saving" a TikTok can mean two different things. You can keep a real copy of the video on your phone, or you can bookmark it inside TikTok so you can find it again. People mix the two up all the time, then wonder why a "saved" video disappeared when the creator deleted it. Here's how the four ways compare:

The sections below go through each way step by step, then answer the questions people ask most: where downloaded TikToks go, why the Download button sometimes isn't there, and whether TikTok tells the creator when you save their video.

How to download a TikTok video in the app

TikTok has its own download button, and for most videos it's the quickest way. TikTok's help page describes it like this:

1. In the TikTok app, go to the video you'd like to download.
2. Tap the Share button on the side of the video.
3. Tap Download in the share menu.

There's a second way from a profile page, handy when you're scrolling someone's videos rather than watching one: press and hold the video's thumbnail, tap Share in the menu that pops up, then tap Download. TikTok says the video is then saved to your device's gallery automatically.

Two things change what you get. TikTok's help page says downloaded videos "may include the TikTok watermark and creator's username, depending on the creator's settings". And if there's no Download option at all, the creator has turned downloads off for that video. The next sections cover both.

Where downloaded TikToks go

A video saved with TikTok's Download button goes to your phone's gallery:

• Android: the Gallery or Google Photos app. TikTok's help page suggests also checking your device's download folder, or a TikTok album in your gallery.
• iPhone: the Photos app, under Recents. If nothing shows up, TikTok needs permission to add photos: open your iPhone's Settings, find TikTok in your apps, tap Photos, and allow access.

A video saved from its link with TapDownload goes where your browser puts downloads instead: Downloads on Android and computers, and the Files app on iPhone. To get it into Photos on an iPhone, open it in Files, tap Share, then Save Video. The iPhone guide has the full steps with pictures of where to tap.

Why there's no Download button, and why TikTok won't let you save a video

When the Download button is missing, or TikTok says the video can't be saved, it's almost always one of these:

• The creator turned off downloads. TikTok's help page is direct about it: "If you don't have the option to download a video, this means the creator doesn't allow it." TikTok also explains that people can still share a link to the video.
• The video is private. TikTok says you can't download videos that are private.
• The account belongs to someone under 16, or is private. TikTok says that for private accounts and for users under 16, downloads are off by default and can't be turned on.
• A failed download. If you see "download failed", TikTok suggests a stable connection, enough free storage, and clearing the app's cache before trying again.

Turn downloads on for your own videos

If TikTok won't let you save your own videos, check the setting TikTok's help page points to:

1. Tap Profile at the bottom of the app.
2. Tap the Menu button (☰) at the top, then Settings and privacy.
3. Tap Downloads (you may need to scroll; in some versions it sits under Privacy).
4. Turn on Video downloads.

With the setting on, TikTok says viewers can save your posts, turn them into GIFs or live photos, and share them to other platforms. If you turn it off later, copies people already saved stay on their phones.

How to save a TikTok draft to your camera roll without posting

This is how to save TikTok videos without posting them. Drafts used to be stuck inside the app until you posted them. TikTok's help page now says you "no longer need to post draft videos to save them to your device". The steps:

1. Open the TikTok app and go to your Profile, then tap Drafts.
2. Tap the draft you want to save.
3. Tap the More button.
4. Tap Share.
5. Choose Save post with watermark.

The draft lands in your gallery with a watermark. TikTok says that to save it without one, you need to post it first. You can also save before you ever make a draft: on the edit screen, tap Share and pick one of the save options.

Keep in mind that a draft lives only on the phone it was made on. If you delete the app or change phones before you save it, the draft is lost, so save the ones you care about now.

How to find saved videos on TikTok: Favorites vs downloads

The bookmark icon on the side of a video adds it to your Favorites. It's TikTok's way of saving a video for later inside the app, and it's what most people mean by "saved videos on TikTok". To view saved videos on TikTok:

1. Tap Profile at the bottom of the app.
2. Tap the tab with the bookmark icon, under your bio. That's Favorites.
3. Tap Videos (Favorites also keeps sounds, effects and other things you bookmarked). You can sort videos into collections from here too.

A Favorite isn't a copy, though. It's a pointer to the video on TikTok. If the creator deletes the video, makes it private or loses their account, it's gone from your Favorites as well. If a video matters to you, save the file, either with Download in the app or from its link. Files you downloaded aren't in TikTok at all: look in your phone's gallery or Downloads.

Can people see your saved videos on TikTok?

Your Favorites are tied to your account, and whether other people can see them is a privacy choice. You'll find it in the app under Settings and privacy, then Privacy. Downloads are different: a video file in your gallery isn't on TikTok, so nobody there can see it.

Does TikTok notify when you save a video? Can people see who saved it?

TikTok's help pages don't describe any alert sent to a creator when someone downloads or favorites their video. Creators see totals: the number next to the bookmark icon counts how many people added the video to their Favorites, and the share count goes up when people share it. Those are numbers, not names.

So the short answers are:

• Does TikTok show or tell you who saved your video? No. You see how many people favorited it, not who. So you can't see who saved your TikTok videos, and nobody can see that you saved theirs.
• Can someone see if you save their TikTok? They see the count go up by one. Your name isn't attached to it.
• Can people see my saved posts on TikTok? Only if your Favorites are set to be visible in your privacy settings.
• Does TikTok notify when you save someone's video to your phone? TikTok doesn't describe any such notice.

Saving from a link with TapDownload doesn't involve your TikTok account at all. You don't log in, so your name can't appear anywhere on the creator's side, and the video's counts don't change.

How to download TikTok videos on a computer

The TikTok app's Download button is for phones. On a Windows PC, a Mac or a Chromebook, the simplest way is the link:

1. Open the video on tiktok.com in your browser. You don't need to log in to watch public videos.
2. Copy the address from the bar at the top. It looks like tiktok.com/@name/video/ and a long number.
3. Paste it into TapDownload and tap Download, then Save.

The MP4 lands in your Downloads folder and plays in any video player. If you'll edit it, keep the default H.264 MP4: every editor opens it. The sharper HEVC copy looks better but some older Windows editors can't read it.

When a saved TikTok disappears

TikTok videos don't stay online forever. Creators delete them, make their account private, or videos get taken down. Here is what survives:

• A Favorite: disappears with the video.
• A downloaded file: stays on your phone or computer. TikTok says that copies downloaded while downloads were allowed stay on people's devices even if the creator turns downloads off later.
• A link: stops working once the video is gone. No website can bring it back.

If you know you'll want a video later, save the file now rather than trusting a bookmark.

Save any public TikTok by link

The TikTok app's Download button won't help on a computer, with videos that have downloads off, or when you want a copy without the watermark. Saving from the link covers those cases for public posts:

1. Copy the link: in the app, tap Share, then Copy link. On a computer, copy the address of the video's page.
2. Open the TikTok downloader, paste the link and tap Download.
3. Tap Save. You get an MP4 without the watermark. The sliders button offers a sharper HEVC copy when TikTok has one, the sound as MP3 or AAC, or a GIF.

Photo posts work the same way and give you every picture as a JPG; see how to download TikTok photos and slideshows. For just the sound, see how to download TikTok audio as MP3. Whatever you save, it's kind to ask the creator before you repost it, and to credit them when you do.

Sources

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