I Posted A TikTok, But It Disappeared. What Did I Do Wrong?

You put a ton of time and effort into creating a TikTok video that you’re sure is going to go viral. You finished all of the editing work, wrote the perfect description, and hit “Post.”

And…crickets. The upload seemed to go through, but there’s no trace of your video on the social media platform.

What went wrong?

Don’t despair. There are several reasons why TikTok videos may seem to vanish after you’ve uploaded them. Some may indeed be your fault, but many others can simply be the app taking its sweet time to make your TikTok post live.

Here are the possibilities.

Why Did My TikTok Disappear After Posting?

We’ll start with the reasons that are out of your control, and then move on to the things you might have done wrong.

A TikTok Glitch

Technical issues with the TikTok platform are rare, but they do happen and occasionally interfere with normal app functions like uploading videos. Wait a few minutes and try again; problems are usually resolved very quickly.

A Normal Video Review

These days, virtually all TikTok content is reviewed by automated moderation tools before it goes live. As long as your video didn’t flagrantly violate Community Standards or TikTok’s terms and conditions, you should see an “Under Review” flag on the thumbnail in your TikTok profile, and the post will quickly be visible on the app.

You Hit the Wrong Button

It’s unlikely, but did you accidentally hit “Draft” instead of “Post” when you were ready to upload? If so, the video is saved in your app and can’t be seen by anyone else; you’ll have to open it and tap the “Post” button to upload it.

Your TikTok Account Settings Are Wrong

If your TikTok account is set to “private,” your videos will be hidden from everyone except you and your approved followers. If you chose the “Only me” option on the posting screen instead of staying with the default “Everyone can view this post” setting, no one else on the app can see it.

Double-check your settings to make sure you didn’t inadvertently limit your post’s visibility.

Your Connection is Causing the Issue

A poor Internet connection can prevent some TikTok functions from working properly. Try moving closer to your modem or router, switching to a different network, or using data instead of Wi-Fi, to see if you can resolve the problem.

Your App or Phone Is to Blame

The TikTok app does lock up from time to time, and phones may not have enough memory to complete all of the tasks you’re trying to accomplish. Log out and back into your app, turn your phone off and back on again, clear your phone’s cache, and if necessary, delete and reinstall TikTok. Those steps may get things working again.

IMPORTANT: If you delete the app, you’ll lose the video you’ve been working on. Be sure to download it to your phone’s camera reel first, so you can upload it to TikTok and continue work once you’ve reinstalled the app.

Your Video is the Problem

We’ve mentioned the brief posting delay caused by TikTok’s automatic review, but if you’ve had your content flagged by the system for possible rules violations, it’s then sent for manual review and won’t be active until that review is complete.

TikTok tries to complete manual reviews within 48 hours, but they can take as long as a week if the queue is clogged or your situation is complicated. You’ll generally see the video go live in a day or two if everything’s fine; otherwise, you’ll receive a notification of the system’s action when a decision is made. You can appeal if you think you’ve been unfairly penalized.

You’ve Been Shadowbanned

If your video has been flagged for a minor rules violation, particularly if you’ve run into similar issues in the past, you may not see your TikTok post because you’ve been “shadowbanned.” That triggers a temporary reduction in content visibility; potential spam, duplicate content, or the use of bots or banned hashtags often lead to shadowbans.

You’re not notified if you’re hit with this penalty, so all you can do is wait. Shadowbans generally last no longer than two weeks, so things should return to normal pretty quickly if this is the reason for your TikTok videos “disappearing.”

Be Proactive

None of these issues is likely to affect TikTok users who create and post innocuous videos, but it’s impossible to predict if you’ll be one of the rare exceptions.

Here’s the moral of the story: Always save your videos as drafts before you’re ready to upload. There’s no way to know if your content will disappear into the ether — and if you haven’t saved it, you’ll have to start from scratch if you want to try posting it again.