How To Download TikTok Drafts: Hacks for Your Content

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Carolyn Howell

Last Updated: Jun 04, 2024

TikTok 101
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It happens to everyone. Your creative juices slow down to a trickle, and you’re not sure how to proceed with your TikTok edits. Or you’re unhappy with how your video is turning out but not quite sure how to fix it yet. Fortunately, TikTok allows users to save unfinished videos as drafts. And if you know how to download TikTok drafts, you can explore more editing options off the platform. 

A woman edits a TikTok video on her laptop.

How To Download TikTok Drafts Without Posting

The creative process can be unpredictable. There are times when you can clearly picture your finished TikTok content in your head. You know exactly what editing steps to take and tools to use. 

There are also other times when you feel completely unmotivated, and the video creation process becomes tedious. 

Knowing how to download TikTok drafts without posting helps when your content isn’t shaping up how you want it to. Follow these five steps to download TikTok drafts:

  1. Start creating your draft video, or go to your profile, open your drafts folder, and select the draft video. 
  2. Edit the video as you wish, then tap the down arrow at the bottom of the tools on the right. 
  3. Tap SavIf you want different versions of your post, you
  4. You can continue editing and saving as you make changes to your post. 
  5. After editing, tap Next, then tap Drafts to save the video to your drafts folder. 

When you save your draft at this stage, the downloaded video won’t have the TikTok watermark. However, some edits you made (such as the song you added) may not be available. 

Downloading drafts also lets you edit TikToks using third-party editing apps, which may offer more creative options. 

High Social’s screenshot shows how to save a TikTok draft during the editing stage.

How To Download TikTok Draft Video Without Watermark Before Posting

Are you ready to post your draft but still want to save it before publishing? Here’s how to download a TikTok draft video without a watermark before posting:

  1. Create your draft video or open one from your drafts folder. 
  2. Edit your video, then tap Next
  3. On the post page, tap More options
  4. Tap the toggle next to Save to device to turn it on. 
  5. Tap the toggle next to Save posts without a watermark to turn it on. 
  6. Tap the X in the top right. 
  7. Finish your post, then tap Post

High Social’s screenshot shows how to save a TikTok draft before posting.

Things To Remember When Creating TikTok Drafts

How long can you keep a TikTok draft? How many times can you edit a draft on TikTok? Now that you know how to download a TikTok draft, here are some things to remember:

  1. When you uninstall TikTok, you’ll lose your TikTok drafts. If you’re uninstalling and reinstalling the app to fix an issue, download all your drafts first. 
  2. Draft videos take up space on your phone. If you need to free up space, you can either publish some of your drafts or delete them. 
  3. When you open a draft that’s weeks or months old, some of the edits you made may no longer be available. TikTok regularly rolls out new effects and filters and removes others. 
  4. You can only access your drafts from the same device you used to create and save them. If you made a TikTok draft using your smartphone, it won’t be available when you log in to TikTok on a desktop. 
  5. You can make multiple edits to the same draft and keep it in your drafts folder indefinitely. 

A woman records a fitness video for her TikTok fans.

Editing a Video After Posting It

You have limited editing options after posting a video. This is why it’s helpful to know how to download drafts on TikTok. 

After you publish a post, the only things you can edit/change are the following:

  • Edit the post description, hashtags, and @mentions within seven days of posting. 
  • Edit the location tag within 180 days of posting. 
  • Edit the video’s audience, i.e., change your audience from Everyone to Friends
  • Turn comments on or off. 
  • Turn on/off Duet, Stitch, and Stickers.
  • Turn the option to allow others to add your post to their Story on or off. 

You can also save your video after posting. Tap the three-dot icon in the bottom right, then tap Save video. If you selected Save posts without watermark for all your posts, your saved video won’t have the TikTok watermark. 

However, this only works for your posts. When you save other people’s TikToks, it will have the TikTok watermark

Knowing how to download TikTok draft lets you edit your unpublished videos on TikTok at a later time. Saving published videos to your device gives you the same advantage. You can repurpose your most popular content and update them with the latest TikTok effects or filters. 

Saving drafts and published content also gives you material to practice and perfect your editing skills.

An iPhone with the TikTok app is placed on a table next to a plant.

Manage Your Content With TikTok Drafts

Are you still getting to know the lay of the land on TikTok? You may need time to figure out your creative style. 

If you’re a fledgling TikTok creator, you must also identify the content styles that best suit your niche and appeal to your target audience. 

Exploring the platform’s wide array of editing tools may initially seem overwhelming. It would help you find inspiration from other creators in your industry. 

Analyze their most popular videos and select content creation elements you can use in your own content. This is as good a way as any to start experimenting with various TikTok editing tricks

You can explore more editing options when you know how to download TikTok drafts. Raw and candid content has unique appeal, but a precisely edited video elevates the quality of your content. 

TikTok drafts allow you to experiment with more creative options and spend more time polishing your video. Of course, your finished TikTok Videos need genuinely interested viewers to generate the engagement they deserve!

Sign up for a High Social plan to help you instantly connect with your target audience. High Social’s advanced, proprietary AI technology reinforces TikTok’s recommendation algorithm to deliver content to more interested users. Start growing your TikTok today!

TikTok 101