Check your profile and liked videos
The first thing to do when trying to find a lost TikTok video is to check your own profile. Go to your TikTok profile and scroll through all of the videos you’ve posted to see if you can locate the missing video.
Often times, a video may still be available on your own profile even if it doesn’t show up elsewhere on TikTok. Carefully review your posted videos list to ensure the lost video isn’t still there.
You’ll also want to check your liked videos collection. Open the “Liked” tab on your profile and browse through your collection of liked videos. It’s possible you may have liked the video when you originally posted it, and it will still be available in your liked videos even if it’s no longer public on your profile.
Checking your own videos and likes is one of the fastest and easiest ways to try finding a lost TikTok video.
Search TikTok using keywords
One of the best ways to try and find a lost TikTok video is to search for it directly within the app using keywords, sounds, or people that you remember being in the video. Here are some tips for searching TikTok to find your lost video:
- Try searching using keywords or phrases from the lost video’s caption or spoken words in the video. The more unique the keywords, the better chance you have of finding the video.
- Search for any songs, audio clips, or sounds that were used in the lost video. TikTok’s powerful search tool will show results containing the same sounds.[1]
- If you remember any people who were featured in the video like duet partners or someone you tagged, search their username to find videos associated with them.
Keep trying different keyword combinations until hopefully you rediscover your lost TikTok gem. Using the built-in search is one of the easiest ways to uncover old videos you forgot to save.
Check your drafts
One of the most common places for lost TikTok videos to end up is in your drafts folder. When you exit the TikTok app before posting a video, it automatically saves to your drafts. To find your drafts on TikTok:
1. Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right corner.
2. Tap on the menu icon in the top right corner and select “Drafts”. https://www.wikihow.com/Access-Drafts-on-Tiktok
3. Scroll through your drafts to see if your lost video is there. The most recent drafts will be at the top.
4. If you find the video, tap on it to open it. You can then edit, post, or delete it as needed.
Drafts are stored locally on your device, so if you can’t find your lost video in drafts, it likely did not automatically save there when you exited the app.
Contact TikTok support
One of the best ways to get help finding your lost TikTok video is to contact TikTok’s customer support team directly. TikTok has an in-app support system that allows you to submit a request for help right from the app.
To access the in-app support:
- Open the TikTok app and tap on your profile icon in the bottom right
- Tap on the three dot menu icon in the top right and select “Report a problem”
- Select “Video issues” then “I can’t find my video”
- Fill out the report with details about the missing video
The TikTok support team will then investigate and try to locate your lost video. Be sure to provide as much helpful information as possible, like the video’s caption, sound, hashtags used, approximate date posted, etc. The more details you can provide, the better chance TikTok can find the missing content.
You can also try reaching out to TikTok’s customer service directly via their contact form at https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/feedback?lang=en or by emailing [email protected]. Explain the situation and provide the same helpful details about the lost video.
TikTok’s customer service team is dedicated to helping users resolve issues, so don’t hesitate to reach out for assistance finding your lost video.
Check if the video was removed
TikTok may have removed the video if it violated content policies. If you believe this is the case, check your notifications tab on the TikTok app for any messages from TikTok regarding content violation. You can also go to your profile, tap the menu button in the top right corner, select “Settings and privacy,” then choose “Content and activity” to view any videos that were removed for policy violations.
Common reasons TikTok may remove a video include (sources: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/why-did-tiktok-remove-my-video?lang=en, https://www.tiktok.com/@isithescribe/video/7244199667372772634?lang=en):
- Nudity or sexually explicit content
- Hate speech, harassment, or bullying
- Harmful or dangerous acts
- Violent or graphic content
- Misinformation or manipulated media
- Spam, misleading or scam content
If your video was removed in error, you can appeal the decision through TikTok’s appeal process. However, if it clearly violated policies, the removal will be permanent.
Restore from recently deleted
If you recently deleted the video, check your recently deleted section. TikTok has a feature that allows you to restore deleted videos for up to 30 days after they were deleted. To access it:
- Go to your profile page
- Tap on the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner
- Select “Content and activity”
- Tap on “Recently deleted”
This section will show all your recently deleted videos for the past 30 days. Find your lost video and tap “Restore” to recover it back to your account. However, keep in mind that if it has been over 30 days since the video was deleted, it will no longer be available in your recently deleted section.
Use a video recovery app
If you are unable to recover your lost TikTok video through the app itself, a third party video recovery app may be able to find and restore it for you. There are a few different apps available that scour your device’s storage and attempt to recover deleted media files.
Some popular options include:
- DiskDigger – Scans your device and builds a catalog of recoverable photos and videos. The free version has basic video recovery capability.
- DigiLab – Claims to find lost videos even if you have wiped your device. The free trial allows up to 2 video restores.
- Recoverit Video Recovery – Works on both mobile devices and computers to locate deleted videos. Free trial available.
To use one of these apps to attempt to recover your lost TikTok video:
- Download and install the recovery app on the device that had the missing video.
- Grant the app the required permissions to search your device storage.
- Run a scan to build a catalog of deleted media files.
- Browse the scan results to hopefully find your lost TikTok video.
- Recover and restore the video to your device’s storage.
With luck, a third party recovery app will be able to locate and restore your missing TikTok video. However, there is no guarantee of success, especially if the video was lost a while ago.
Check your connections
One way to potentially find your lost TikTok video is to ask people you know if they happened to save or share it. If someone downloaded your video or sent it to friends when it was originally posted, they may still have access to it. You can send messages to close friends and family members asking them to check if they have a copy of the video in question. Make sure to give the specific details like when it was posted, what song or audio it used, the visuals, etc. to jog their memory. If someone does have it saved, ask them to send it back to you so you can re-upload it.
You can also check if any of your connections shared the lost TikTok publicly. Search through the profiles and pages of people you’re connected with to see if they shared or embedded your video when it was originally posted. If you’re lucky, someone may have shared it in a way that’s still accessible. This public share can then give you the ability to download or screen record the TikTok video to get it back in your possession.
Accept that it may be lost forever
If you have gone through all the steps and still can’t find your lost video anywhere, it’s possible that the video is gone for good. TikTok does not have a feature to recover permanently deleted videos that are no longer in your Recently Deleted folder. According to TikTok’s help page, “Once a video is deleted from your account and Recently Deleted, we are unable to recover it.”
Before giving up entirely, you can try reaching out to TikTok Support as a last resort to see if they can locate the video. However, they are unlikely to be able to recover a video that is not in your account’s trash folder. If you’ve exhausted all options, the unfortunate reality is that you may have to accept the video is gone permanently.
To avoid losing videos in the future, be sure to frequently download and back up videos you want to save. You can download videos directly from TikTok using the Share button. Backing up to external storage or cloud storage gives you a copy if a video gets accidentally deleted.
Prevent future lost videos
The best way to prevent losing TikTok videos in the future is to save backups or use apps that automatically save your videos. For example, you can:
- Use the ‘Save to Camera Roll’ feature in the TikTok app to download each video after posting it. This ensures you have a copy stored locally on your device (source).
- Install a third-party app like Video Downloader for TikTok which can automatically save every video you post (source).
- Regularly transfer your saved TikTok videos to a computer or external storage device as a backup.
Taking preventative measures is the best way to avoid the headache of trying to recover lost videos. Saving backups gives you peace of mind that your creative efforts are preserved.
