Many TikTok users have experienced the frustrating issue of uploading a video that never shows up on their profile or gets any views. This can happen for a variety of reasons, leaving users confused about where their content went. In this article, we’ll explore the most common reasons TikTok videos may upload but not appear for yourself or others and provide solutions to fix them.
Potential causes include incorrect privacy settings, violations of community guidelines resulting in shadowbans or restrictions, posting from drafts instead of directly to the feed, and temporary server issues. We’ll walk through each scenario and how to resolve the problems so videos upload and display properly moving forward. With the right troubleshooting, you can get your TikTok content showing up again and engaging your followers.
Checking Video Privacy Settings
One reason your TikTok video may upload but not show up publicly is if you have your video privacy settings set to private or friends-only. With private videos, only you can view them. With friends-only, only your friends on TikTok can view them. So if your video privacy is set to private or friends-only, your video will upload successfully but will not be visible to the general public.
To check your video privacy settings, open the TikTok app and go to your profile page. Tap the three-dot menu icon and select “Privacy and safety.” From there you can view and adjust the privacy settings for your individual videos. Setting videos to public will allow them to be viewed by all TikTok users. Keep in mind that any past videos you’ve already posted with privacy restrictions will remain private – you have to update the visibility settings individually per video if you want them public.
Video Under Review
Videos on TikTok go through an automated review process before they are published publicly. This review checks for things like nudity, violence, harmful acts, illegal activities, and copyrighted content (MegaDigital). If your video gets flagged during this review, you’ll see a “video under review” message when trying to post. The review usually takes a few hours, but can sometimes take up to a day (Dexerto).
Some things that may trigger the review include:
- Violent, graphic, or disturbing content
- Nudity or sexually suggestive content
- Harmful or dangerous acts
- Promotion of illegal activities
- Potential copyright infringements
If your video doesn’t violate any guidelines, it will likely be approved after review. However, repeated violations could lead to restrictions on your account. While waiting, check your notifications and email for updates on the review status. The best way to avoid issues is to follow the TikTok community guidelines when creating and posting videos.
Shadowbanned Hashtags
One potential reason your TikTok videos may not be showing up is if you are using hashtags that have been shadowbanned by TikTok. TikTok shadowbans certain words, hashtags, and phrases that are considered offensive, hateful, or abusive to keep the platform safe for users (https://www.socialchamp.io/blog/tiktok-shadowban/). Using a shadowbanned hashtag will severely limit your video’s visibility and reach.
To avoid getting shadowbanned, you’ll want to avoid using excessive hashtags or hashtags that are irrelevant to your video. Overusing hashtags can trigger TikTok’s spam filters and cause your account to be shadowbanned (https://megadigital.ai/en/blog/tiktok-shadowban/). Stick to 5-10 relevant hashtags per video to optimize visibility.
You can test if you are using a shadowbanned hashtag by posting with and without it and seeing if there is a significant difference in views or engagement. If your views drop dramatically with a certain hashtag, it likely means that hashtag is shadowbanned.
Restricted Mode Active
If Restricted Mode is enabled in your TikTok account settings, it can prevent your uploaded videos from being publicly visible. Restricted Mode hides content that is marked as potentially objectionable or inappropriate for younger audiences.
To check if Restricted Mode is enabled:
- Open the TikTok app and go to your profile page.
- Tap the menu icon in the top right and select “Settings and privacy”.
- Go to “Content preferences” and check if “Restricted Mode” is on.
Turn off Restricted Mode and that should allow your videos to become publicly viewable again. Keep in mind that TikTok moderators may still flag certain videos as inappropriate even with Restricted Mode disabled.
For more information, see TikTok’s help article on Restricted Mode: https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/restricted-mode
Posting from Drafts
One common reason your video may upload but not appear is if you are posting from your drafts. According to this Reddit thread, sometimes when TikTok saves a video to drafts, there can be issues publishing it at a later time. The video may show as posted on your end, but not actually go live for others to view. Trying deleting the draft and re-uploading the video directly instead of posting from drafts.
If you frequently post videos from drafts, make sure to double check that the videos are actually live on your profile afterwards. There seems to be a bug where draft videos get stuck in a published-but-not-visible state. Posting directly rather than from drafts may help avoid this issue.
Server Issues
Sometimes uploads may fail if TikTok is experiencing server or technical issues. According to Downdetector, TikTok servers can go down occasionally which leads to problems uploading, viewing videos, logging in, etc. Sites like IsItDownRightNow also track TikTok outages and technical issues. If TikTok is down due to server problems, your uploaded videos may fail to process and show up on your profile until the issues are resolved. Trying again later when servers are back up could help get your video through.
Copyright Violations
One potential reason your TikTok video is uploading but not appearing publicly could be due to copyright violations and copyright claims being filed against your video. According to TikTok’s Help Center page on Copyright, (https://support.tiktok.com/en/safety-hc/account-and-user-safety/copyright), if your video contains any copyrighted material like music, audio, or video that you do not have permission to use, the copyright holder can file a claim against your video.
When a copyright claim is filed, your video will be blocked and will not appear publicly on TikTok. You will receive an in-app notification informing you that your video is blocked. To resolve the issue, you will need to edit your video to remove the copyrighted content, or dispute the claim if you believe it was made in error.
It’s important to only use original music, audio, images and video that you have created or have explicit permission to use. Using unoriginal content without permission could lead to repeat copyright claims and even account restrictions. Check your uploaded videos carefully to ensure they don’t contain any unapproved copyrighted material.
Account Restrictions
If your account has been banned or limited by TikTok for violating community guidelines, your videos may not show up even after uploading. Banned accounts are prohibited from posting or interacting on TikTok. Limited accounts face restrictions like not being able to post videos, comment, or use live streaming.
According to TikTok’s support page on content violations and bans, if you repeatedly violate community guidelines or a single violation is severe enough, TikTok may permanently ban your account. Less severe or first-time offenses can result in temporary bans or limits on account abilities.
To appeal an account restriction, you can submit an appeal through the app by going to your profile, tapping the three-dot menu, selecting Report a Problem, and following the prompts. TikTok reviews all appeals but does not always overturn decisions.
Conclusion
There are many possible reasons why your TikTok videos may not be showing up after uploading. The most common issues are having your video’s privacy set to “Private”, your video being under review by TikTok, using shadowbanned hashtags, having Restricted Mode enabled, posting from drafts, or temporary server issues. Copyright violations or account restrictions could also prevent your videos from being visible.
To troubleshoot, first double check your video’s privacy settings and be sure it’s not private or hidden from certain viewers. Check if TikTok is reviewing it for community guideline violations. Avoid using banned hashtags. Disable Restricted Mode and try uploading again. Clear out any posts stuck in drafts. If it’s still not working, wait a bit as it could be a temporary server issue. As a last resort, your account itself may be facing restrictions, in which case you’ll need to appeal to TikTok support.
By methodically going through these potential issues, you should be able to identify and resolve whatever is causing your TikTok videos to not show up. With a bit of troubleshooting, you’ll be back to sharing your latest videos in no time.