How To Save And Find TikTok Drafts

TikTok continues to be the go-to social media platform for short-form video content. Users around the world upload an estimated 34 million videos daily, equating to approximately 16,000 videos per minute. 

With so much user-generated content published every minute, standing out as a TikTok creator means learning how to use the TikTok app strategically, and that includes the Drafts feature. 

TikTok Drafts allows creators to save unfinished videos until they are absolutely ready to be published. So, how do you save and find your drafts? TikTok Drafts are saved on your mobile device, letting you edit and perfect your content before sharing it with your audience. 

In this guide we’ll explore exactly how to save drafts and where to find them. Let’s dive in!

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What Are TikTok Drafts?

TikTok Drafts are unpublished videos that creators can save inside the app to work on later to make last adjustments. 

Whether you are waiting for the best time to post your TikTok or still figuring out the best way to edit your video, drafts let you pause the process without losing your content. 

How do drafts work? Videos saved as drafts are stored locally on your device's storage (internal memory or SD card), meaning they aren’t backed up in the cloud. Once deleted or when switching devices, they are permanently lost unless saved externally.

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How To Save a TikTok Draft?

Drafts can be a TikToker best ally. Whether you are planning ahead, perfecting a transition or deciding on the best trendy song or challenge to hop on, saving your videos as drafts is quite simple. 

Here’s how you can do it! 

Step 1: Open TikTok

You want to open your app and go to the “+” icon on the bottom center. That will allow you to both upload a regular video or make a draft. 

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Step 2: Make Your Video

You can upload a video from your device or you can record a new one right from the app.

Step 3: Save Your Draft

Once you are happy with your content, click on the “Next” button to go to the post screen. This is the important part: instead of hitting “Post”, tap the “Drafts” button and your video will be saved in your drafts folder. 

Every draft you create is going to be saved only on the device where they were created. If you switch phones or delete the app, your drafts will be deleted permanently. 

Pro Tip: You can duplicate your drafts and create multiple versions of it using different captions, sounds, effects or filters in order to make the best performing videos and get famous on TikTok!

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Where to Find Your Drafts on TikTok?

Once you create all your drafts, they are all going to be stored in the same folder on your profile. However, remember that only you can see them. 

Here’s a more detailed step-by-step guide to find your drafts: 

Step 1: Open TikTok

You want to open your app and go to the “Me” icon to go to your profile. 

Step 2: Open Your Draft Folder

You’ll be able to see a draft folder displayed alongside all the videos you have posted. You can tap inside the folder to view each one of your drafts.

You can decide to continue editing your videos, delete them or publish them once you are done. 

Pro Tip: As your drafts are only saved on your original device, you can backup your videos by saving some of the footage into your phone or preferred device. This way, if anything happens with your app or phone, you won’t lose all your work. 

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What Happens When You Post a Draft?

Once you decide that your draft is ready for the rest of the world to see, you can go ahead and post the video as a new TikTok.

The video will no longer be listed under the drafts folder and it becomes a normal post. Depending on who you want to be able to watch the TikTok, the visibility settings you must choose: 

• Only You: The more private option. The video is only available for you to see. 
• Friends: The close group opinion. The video is only available for the followers you also follow back, alias your TikTok friends. 
• Everyone: The video is available for the public, everybody can now see it. 

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How to Delete TikTok Drafts

Sometimes you can edit your draft and decide that you no longer wish to post it. Don’t worry, deleting your drafts it’s quite easy! 

All you need to do in order to delete your TikTok drafts is: 

Step 1: Open TikTok

You want to open your app and go to the “Me” icon to go to your profile. 

Step 2: Open Your Draft Folder

You’ll be able to see a draft folder displayed alongside all the videos you have posted. You can tap inside the folder to view each one of your drafts.

Step 3: Delete Your Drafts

Press on the “select” icon and choose the drafts you want to delete. Tap the “delete” button and confirm the action. 

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How to Save TikTok Drafts to Your Camera Roll 

If you don’t want to share your drafts publicly but you want to save it to your device, there's a little trick you can do. 

TikTok does not offer a direct option to download your drafts. However, following these simple steps will allow you to save your videos. 

Step 1: Open TikTok

You want to open your app and go to the “Me” icon to go to your profile. 

Step 2: Open Your Draft Folder

You’ll be able to see a draft folder displayed alongside all the videos you have posted. You can tap inside the folder to view each one of your drafts.

Step 3: Save Your Draft

Select the video you want to save. Tap “Next” and then under “Who can watch this video” select “Only me”.

Here’s the trick! Don’t forget to click on the “Save to device” option at the bottom. Then, go ahead and “Post” the video. You will be the only one who can see it and the video will be automatically saved to your device. 

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What Can You Edit On A TikTok Draft?

One of the greatest things about the draft features is that it allows you to go back to your videos before posting them and make any necessary changes in style, tone or whatever you seem fit to get the vibe you want and truly thrive on TikTok. 

Here's what you can typically edit or change on your drafts: 

Music & Sounds

You can decide you prefer another song or hop on the latest TikTok trend to enhance your chances of going viral. As long as your video’s timing plays naturally along the new song or sound, you’ll be good to go. 

If not, you may need to use clip trimming and transition effects to enhance your video’s pacing, ensuring a smooth flow that aligns with your chosen music or trend before posting. 

Effects & Visuals

Any effect you want to add to your video is available at the draft folder. You can try out different ones until you are happy with your final result. 

Filters

You can also update filters, play with contrast, lights and brightness and even apply a whole new visual style before posting. 

Cover Image

You can select another frame of your video to be your thumbnail. You can also add some text to the image in order to create a more eye-catching preview. 

Hashtags & Description

At the drafts folder you can also write or re-write your captions, add popular hashtags and tag users before posting. This is a great chance to optimize your content for maximum TikTok engagement: the right combo of text, tags and timing can help boost likes, comments and shares. 

Duration & Order of Clips

If you want to make your video shorter or add some clips to make it longer, you can use the editing tools to do just that. You can also re-adjust the order of your different clips to fine-tune your footage so it flows more naturally. 

After publishing your TikTok, make sure to always monitor engagement rates. Understanding your engagement rate on each video is vital to get to know how your reach and the effectiveness of your edits is working. 

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Can You Download TikTok Drafts or Transfer Them to Another Phone?

As TikTok drafts are saved locally on the device where they were created, you cannot transfer them to another phone unless you manually back them up. 

If you get a new phone or delete the TikTok app, all your drafts will be permanently lost (unless you have a manual backup). 

So in order to manually move your drafts to another device, you should download them to your camera roll as we discussed before. Here are the steps on how to save your drafts to your device: 

• Step 1 - Go to your draft.
• Step 2 - Tap “Next” as if you're going to post it.
• Step 3 - Set the privacy setting to “Only me.”
• Step 4 - Enable “Save to device.”
• Step 5 - Post the video.

The video will now be saved to your phone’s camera roll, and only you can see it on TikTok. You can then transfer the file to another phone or cloud service and re-upload it from there.

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Final Thoughts On How To Save and Find TikTok Drafts

Drafts can be a creator's best ally to improve post performance and optimize content strategy on TikTok.

Learning how to save, edit and refine your drafts, is going to give yourself the chance to create and deliver the best videos to your audience. In a space driven by creativity and timing, preparation can be the edge that sets your content apart.

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