TikTok is a popular short-form video platform with over 1 billion monthly active users. While most videos on TikTok are short videos that are posted immediately, TikTok offers a drafts feature that allows users to save unfinished videos to edit and post later.
The drafts feature can be useful for creating high-quality videos that require more editing time before posting. Drafts allow you to experiment with effects, captions, sounds and more without having to complete the video in one session.
In this article, we’ll provide a comprehensive overview of how to use TikTok’s drafts feature. We’ll cover how to save draft videos, access and edit existing drafts, publish drafts when ready, as well as tips for troubleshooting issues with drafts.
What are TikTok Drafts?
TikTok drafts are unfinished videos that creators can save without publishing them publicly (Vistasocial, 2023). When you create a TikTok video in the app, you have the option to save it as a draft instead of immediately posting it. Drafts allow you to save videos that are still in progress so you can come back and finish editing them later.
The drafts feature gives TikTok creators more flexibility in their video creation process. Often, creators get partway through making a video but aren’t ready to share it yet. Drafts enable them to save the video privately and work on it over multiple sessions before publishing it. This is helpful for creators who like to carefully edit their videos or don’t always have enough time to finish a video in one sitting.
Overall, TikTok drafts function as unfinished videos that stay private until the creator finishes editing them and decides to publish them publicly. The drafts allow for a more iterative, multi-step creative process (Moviemaker, 2024).
Why Use Drafts?
One of the main benefits of using drafts on TikTok is that it allows creators to save unfinished work (according to https://vistasocial.com/insights/tiktok-drafts/). When an idea strikes but the execution isn’t quite ready yet, drafts provide a place to store initial recordings without having to post them right away. This gives creators time to perfect their videos before officially publishing them to their profile.
TikTok drafts essentially act as a workspace where creators can tweak, edit, and refine their content before sharing it more widely (according to https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/tiktok-drafts-how-to-save-edit-and-delete-1675375/). Rather than rushing to post a subpar first take, the drafts feature enables experimentation and careful crafting. Creators can capture spontaneity in the moment while still being thoughtful about what they ultimately publish.
How to Save a Draft
Saving a draft on TikTok is easy to do. Just follow these steps:
- Open the TikTok app and tap the + icon to start creating a new video.
- Record your video or upload a pre-recorded clip. Add any text, effects, sounds etc. that you want.
- Once your video is ready, tap ‘Next’ in the top right corner.
- On the posting screen, tap the ‘Save as Draft’ link at the bottom.
Your video will now be saved as a draft. You’ll see a confirmation message saying ‘Draft saved’.
To access your drafts, tap the ‘Drafts’ icon in the bottom right corner of the posting screen. This will show you a list of all your draft videos that you can come back and edit/post later.
Accessing and Editing Drafts
To find and open your draft videos on TikTok:
- Tap the ‘+’ icon in the bottom center of the app to open the upload screen.
- On the bottom left you will see a section called “Drafts”. Tap on it.
- This will show you a list of all your draft videos. Tap on any video to open and edit it.
To edit a draft video:
- Tap on the pencil icon at the top right to open editing options.
- You can trim the video length, rearrange clips, add effects, text, sounds and more.
- When done editing, tap “Next” at the bottom right.
- You will be taken to the posting page where you can add a caption, hashtags, etc. before posting.
TikTok will autosave any changes you make to draft videos as you edit them. You can come back and continue editing a draft at any time before posting.
Publishing Drafts
Once you are happy with your TikTok draft and ready to share it, you can easily publish it as a full video on your profile. Here are the steps to publish a draft:
1. Open the TikTok app and tap on the “Drafts” icon on the bottom. This will show you a list of all your draft videos.
2. Tap on the draft you want to publish. This will open up the draft video within the editing screen.
3. Make any last minute tweaks or edits you want to the video. Make sure to review it and ensure you are satisfied with the final version before posting.
4. Tap on the “Post” button at the bottom right. TikTok will then upload and publish your draft video to your profile.
Here are some tips when finalizing your draft before posting:
- Review the captions and text to check for typos and errors.
- Watch the full video to ensure the visuals and audio align properly.
- Consider adding any relevant hashtags to help the video reach more people.
- Check the privacy settings to confirm who can view the video once posted.
Publishing your draft helps share your creative videos on TikTok with the world. With drafts, you can take your time to perfect your videos before posting them to your profile.
Draft Limitations
There are some limits in place on the number of drafts a user can save on TikTok. According to TikTok’s Help Center, users are allowed a maximum of 100 drafts at any given time. If you try to save more than 100 drafts, you’ll receive an error message that you’ve reached the limit.
Drafts also have an expiration period if they are not published. As per TikTok’s policies, unpublished drafts will be automatically deleted after 30 days. So if you don’t publish or edit a draft within 30 days of saving it, it will be permanently removed from your drafts folder. You cannot recover expired drafts, so be sure to review and publish your drafts in a timely manner if you want to retain them.
The 30 day expiration period applies to all users universally. There are no exceptions for certain accounts like creators or business profiles. The limit of 100 drafts and 30 day expiration also cannot be increased or extended currently. These policies are fixed by TikTok to manage storage and ensure users regularly review and publish their drafts.
Troubleshooting Issues
If you encounter problems accessing or saving drafts on TikTok, there are some troubleshooting steps you can try:
Solutions for Common Draft Problems
One of the most common issues is drafts failing to load properly. If your drafts aren’t showing up, first try fully closing and reopening the TikTok app to refresh the cache. This often fixes draft loading problems (Source).
If drafts still won’t load, check that you have an internet connection and that your app is updated. Outdated apps can cause draft errors. You can also try toggling your wifi or cellular data off and back on to force a fresh connection.
For recurring draft loading problems on iOS, go to Settings > TikTok > Delete App Data. This will wipe the cache and allow drafts to reload. Just be aware you’ll lose any other offline TikTok data.
Recovering Deleted Drafts
If you accidentally delete a TikTok draft, unfortunately there is no way to directly recover it. However, TikTok automatically saves a copy of posted videos under “Deleted videos” in your profile. So if you posted the draft before deleting it, you may be able to restore it from there.
Otherwise, your only option is to re-record the draft if possible. Make sure to save drafts before posting to have a backup in case you decide to delete the published video.
Alternatives to Drafts
While TikTok’s draft feature is useful for saving work in progress videos, there are some alternatives that users can consider:
Taking notes in a notepad app or writing down ideas is a low-tech way to plan out video content without having to actually record anything in the TikTok app. The benefits of using handwritten notes or a basic text app are simplicity and flexibility. However, this lacks the visual component of seeing the actual video drafts.
Screen recording draft videos is another alternative. Users can record rough cuts of their videos using their device’s built-in screen recording capability. This allows seeing the actual video draft. The downside is that it takes more effort than jotting notes, and the recordings take up device storage space.1
Third party TikTok scheduling tools like Loomly also offer the ability to save video drafts. These tools provide features like planning content calendars, collaborating with others, and publishing to multiple channels.1 However, additional subscriptions and learning new software may be required.
Overall, TikTok’s built-in draft feature provides the best blend of convenience and utility for most users. But the alternatives like notes, recordings, and third-party tools give options for those who want additional flexibility or capabilities.
Conclusion
In summary, TikTok drafts allow users to save and edit videos without posting them. Drafts can be accessed from the profile page and edited at anytime. Users can publish drafts whenever they are ready to post them. Drafts auto-save after 24 hours, with a maximum limit of 100 drafts. If drafts are accidentally deleted or issues arise, contacting TikTok support is recommended. While drafts are immensely useful, alternatives like downloading videos or using third-party apps are available.
To effectively utilize TikTok drafts, take advantage of the ability to refine and perfect videos before public posting. Use drafts to manage a queue of video ideas at your own pace. Check drafts regularly to prevent losing unsaved edits. Overall, drafts are a valuable TikTok tool to improve content quality and manage your workflow.
