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It’s easier for TikTok users to record and edit videos on the app than it is on any other social media platform.
Content creators occasionally run into a few odd roadblocks, though. One of the most vexing is that draft videos are only saved on — and can only be accessed from — the phone or device on which they were originally recorded.
In other words, if you’re making a TikTok video on your phone and save it as a draft, you can’t resume work on your iPad or any other device, even if you’re using the same TikTok account.
That can cause problems for families who share phones or tablets, those who do their work in different physical locations, and people who lose or upgrade their phones. There’s a related issue as well: if you delete the TikTok app from your device, any drafts that you saved are lost forever.
The smart way to avoid facing some of these dilemmas is to save all of your TikTok drafts to your phone. Downloading the drafts and then transferring them to a different phone or device, if necessary, will eliminate all of the obstacles.
How do you go about it? Let’s find out.
(Before we begin, here’s a pro tip that will make the file transfer much easier. Enable iCloud backup if you have an iPhone, and make sure Google’s automatic backup service is enabled if you use an Android.)
Downloading TikTok Drafts
Your drafts are visible on your TikTok profile, in the content grid found in the middle of the page. To download one, click the associated thumbnail to open it, find and tap the “Save” option at the bottom of the right-hand icon menu, and then choose “Post to save without watermark.” That will also turn the draft into a TikTok post, so you’ll have to delete the post if you don’t want it visible.
Now that the draft has been saved on your phone, you’re halfway there.
Transferring TikTok Drafts
If you enabled backup services as we suggested earlier, you’re all set. When your drafts are downloaded on your device, they’ll also be saved to the cloud. All you have to do is find and download the draft video to your second phone or tablet with the iCloud Drive or Google Drive app. (You may have to install the app if you don’t already have it.)
If your draft hasn’t automatically been saved to the cloud, you’ll have to do the transfer manually. That’s not hard these days; many messaging apps, social apps, and transfer services like Dropbox and OneDrive let you transfer short videos easily. If necessary, you can try email, use a cloud service, or even connect the two devices manually via USB through a computer.
A Simpler Option
If you don’t care about archiving your drafts and just want to be able to access your drafts from multiple devices, there’s an easier way to do it.
Instead of saving your unfinished TikTok video as a draft, upload it to the app as a TikTok post — but only after changing the “Everyone can view this post” setting to “Only you.” That publishes it as a private video, so no one else will be able to view it. However, you’ll be able to open the post and download it on any device as long as you’re using the same TikTok account.
When you know that you’re going to want to continue editing a video on a different phone or tablet, this last method is the best way to avoid the app’s roadblocks and finish your work.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.