If you come across a TikTok that you found interesting or useful but forgot to like or save it, finding that video again can be tricky. Here are some tips to help you locate a TikTok you previously saw but did not engage with:
Check Your Watch History
The easiest way to find a video you saw before is to look through your TikTok watch history. TikTok keeps track of all the videos you have watched in the “Watch History” section under the profile tab. Open the TikTok app, go to your profile, and tap on “Watch History”. This will show you a feed of the last videos you have watched. Scroll through to see if you can find the one you are looking for.
Search by Details You Remember
If the video is not in your watch history, think back to any specific details you remember about it. Things like the content, audio, captions, creator name or username, hashtags used, etc. can be helpful search terms. Go to the search bar and type in whatever keywords or phrases you recall. For example, search “that funny cooking video peas” or “@jennacooks dinner recipe”. TikTok will display results related to your search query.
Look Through Your Recommendations
TikTok’s algorithm recommends videos to users based on their interests and watch history. So the video you saw may pop up in your recommendations again. Check the “For You” feed tab regularly. TikTok may suggest that video to you again if it detects you previously watched similar content.
Use Hashtags on the Video
Think back to any hashtags used in the video’s caption or comments. Hashtags categorize content and make videos searchable. Searching the exact hashtags may bring up the TikTok you are after. Popular hashtags like #fyp are too broad, but niche hashtags can help narrow it down.
Check the Creator’s Profile
If you remember the username of the person who made the video, go to their profile page. Watch their posted videos to see if you can identify the one you are searching for. Their most popular videos will be pinned at the top. You can also browse their liked videos in case they liked their own TikTok after posting it.
Reverse Image Search
If you vaguely remember what was depicted in the video, you can try reverse image searching. Take a screenshot of a frame from a similar looking video. Then go to images.google.com and upload the screenshot. Google will search for any matching or closely related images across the web, including matching video thumbnails from TikTok. This may help surface the exact video.
Check Your Browser History
Go to your mobile browser history and search for visits to TikTok. The video URL may still be there if you clicked out from the app to a browser when originally watching. The URL will contain the details needed to pull up that page again and play the video.
Use TikTok’s Account Recovery
As a last resort, try TikTok’s account recovery process. This allows you to retrieve data associated with your lost or new account. Select “Find contacts you’ve interacted with” during account recovery. TikTok will list users you’ve recently watched or interacted with. Browsing these accounts may uncover the lost video.
Enable Watch History
If you often find yourself trying to rediscover TikToks you’ve seen, enable full watch history. In app settings, toggle on “Watch History” to keep a record of all videos viewed. You can also set Watch History to auto-delete after a specified number of days if privacy is a concern.
Like or Follow the Creator
When you stumble upon an account with videos you enjoy, make sure to follow them or like their content. This saves it to your likes tab and follows tab, allowing you to more easily find their videos later. Engaging with their profile makes it simpler to rediscover their content.
Add Videos to Favorites
TikTok has a feature that lets you mark videos as favorites. Tap the share icon on a video and select “Favorite” to save it to your favorites list. This creates a collection of top videos for you to easily reference anytime. Use favorites to bookmark content you really like.
Share the Video
Sharing a TikTok to platforms like messages or social media adds it to your sharing history. To look through videos you’ve recently shared, go to the profile tab and select “Shared Content”. This provides a searchable record of videos you’ve shared off of TikTok which can help you track down the one you lost.
Use a Social Media Scheduler
If you plan to re-share videos off TikTok to social media, use a scheduler like Hootsuite. When you schedule a post, the video URL gets stored. Check your scheduled posts history to see if the missing TikTok happens to be in there based on the link.
Download the Video
You can download any TikTok video directly from the app by tapping the share icon and selecting “Save video”. Downloaded videos get stored in your camera roll. Browse your camera roll to see if you happen to have the one your looking for already saved.
Use Duet Videos
If you previously dueted with a video, navigating to your profile’s “Duets” tab will display a feed of all your past duets. This provides another way to uncover a lost video if you collaborated with it before.
Check Your Reactions
Under the profile tab, tap on “Reactions” to see videos you’ve reacted to using emojis. The emoji reaction history acts like a makeshift playlist of videos you want to refer back to. Look for the one you lost here.
Turn on Post Notifications
If you’re trying to rediscover a video from a specific creator, turn on post notifications for that user’s profile. This way whenever they post new videos you’ll get notified. You will be able to recognize and save the video you previously lost when it appears again.
Use a Social Media Analytics Tool
Analytics tools like SocialBlade can look up a TikTok user and analyze their most popular videos. Sort the creator’s videos by most views to see if the viral TikTok you are searching for appears at the top of the list. This offers a data-driven approach.
Check Fan Group Chats
Joining a TikTok fan group chat on apps like Discord can expose you to a steady stream of top videos from that community. Ask members of the chat if anyone has the video you are looking for. Fellow fans may have it saved or recall seeing it.
Look for Fan Recreations
Search for fan tributes related to the lost TikTok. Fans will often try to emulate or remake extremely popular TikToks as their own version. If the video you saw went viral, searching its hashtag or audio may turn up remakes that jog your memory.
Contact the Creator
If you can identify the user who originally posted the video, reach out to them directly through comments, duets, or their social media. Politely ask if they still have access to the TikTok you are searching for and request that they send it to you or repost it.
Search Related Sounds
Think back to the sound or audio used in the lost TikTok. Searching for other videos that utilized the same original sound can surface the video you want. Tap on the sound attribution link to open a feed of other videos with that music.
Use a Third Party Downloader
Websites and apps like TikSave allow you to input any TikTok URL and download the source video to your device. Though not endorsed by TikTok, they provide another potential route if you find the video link later.
Rediscovering a TikTok you previously saw but didn’t engage with can be tricky. But using watch history, searches, creator profiles and other tools can help uncover that lost video. Enabling favorites, likes and collections can also prevent this problem in the future by saving content for easy access later.
