TikTok is a treasure trove of bite-sized videos. And you may even have shared some TikTok videos with friends. But what if you’d like to download TikTok videos to watch later?
In this article, we’ll show you how to download TikTok videos on desktop and mobile. Which is a lot easier than you might think.
Why You Should Download TikTok Videos
There are several reasons why you may want to download a TikTok video.
TikTok comes with an endless stream of unique and fresh entertainment. Since the apps don’t have a native offline mode, you can download the clips you like to watch them later when you’re without an internet connection.
In addition, you may just prefer sharing videos instead of links on messaging apps. TikTok isn’t merely about lip-syncing or silly videos either. It houses a wide range of videos such as cooking tutorials. Therefore, you can employ the download functionality to, for instance, save a food recipe you want to try at some point.
As we’ll discuss later in this article, TikTok does allow you to directly download other people’s videos. However, irrespective of TikTok’s policies, you should be mindful of people’s privacy and not misuse these methods for any illicit purposes.
How to Download TikTok Videos on Android and iOS
TikTok offers a built-in download button on its Android and iOS apps. It instantly saves the video you’re watching on your phone’s local storage.
To download a TikTok video, you first need to launch its app. Log in if you haven’t already. The download option will only work as long as you’re signed in.
Next, navigate to the video you’d like to save, and tap it. There will be a handful of quick actions in the video player’s bottom right-hand corner. The feature you’re looking for is under the Share button. Select it, and then tap Save Video.
The app will begin downloading the video and pull up a carousel of social share links for forwarding the file immediately. Since the video is saved to your phone’s gallery, you don’t have to share it right away if you don’t want to. You can simply go back to discard the social icons and access the video from your camera roll.
It’s worth keeping in mind that when you share a video from TikTok, the app automatically sends it as a video instead of a link. Hence, you don’t have to manually hit the Save as Video button for when you just want to forward it on a social or messaging app.
How to Download a TikTok Video as a GIF
You also have the choice to download a TikTok video as a GIF. The Share as GIF option is present on the far right of the same row as Save Video. When you tap it, TikTok lets you trim the clip to your liking as well. Hit Generate to save the resulting GIF on your phone.
Do note that TikTok users have the ability to make their videos private. In that case, the Save Video button won’t be available for viewers. As a workaround, you can record your phone’s screen as it’s playing.
On iOS, users can utilize the native screen recording option. To add it to the control center, go to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls, and inside More Controls, tap the green plus button beside Screen Recording. Pull up the control center, touch the screen recording button, and off you go.
Android users, however, will have to rely on one of these third-party screen recorders for Android. To use it, launch the app, play the video, and tap the record button.
You can block users from downloading your TikTok videos by heading to Settings > Privacy and Safety and turning off the Allow Download option.
How to Download TikTok Videos on Desktop
Unlike its mobile apps, TikTok’s download option is not available on its website. So you will have to use a third-party service to download TikTok videos on your computer.
TikTok Videos Downloader
A website called TikTok Videos Downloader is one of these third-party services. It allows you to save any TikTok video in its original resolution. All you need to do is enter the clip’s link.
To grab a TikTok video’s link, open it in your web browser, and copy the page’s URL from the address bar at the top.
Once you have the link, head over to TikTok Videos Downloader. Paste the URL in the giant text box in the center. Click Download and choose the format. You can either download it as a video or an MP3 audio file. The video will be stored in your computer’s Downloads folder.
Instant Google Chrome Extension
Alternatively, you can install a Google Chrome extension titled Instant and avoid the copy-pasting process. Instant enables you to bookmark and download videos from both Instagram and TikTok.
When you’ve installed Instant, you will see a new flash icon at the top right corner of Google Chrome. Visit the TikTok video you’d like to download. Click the Instant button to bookmark the clip.
Right-click it again and select Options. Instant will launch a new dashboard-like page where you will find all your saved TikTok or Instagram videos. To download them to your computer, hover over a video’s thumbnail and click the orange arrow button.
If you don’t want this to be a two-step process, you can change it in Instant’s settings. In the top-right corner of Instant’s dashboard, click the Preferences button and switch on the “Automatically download saved videos to your computer” option. Now, Instant will download the video locally to your desktop as soon as you save a TikTok clip.
Instant is not yet available for any other browser. However, Mozilla Firefox users can try an add-on called TikTok Downloader.
A Beginner’s Guide to Using TikTok
TikTok is home to some of the internet’s funniest videos today. And using these methods you can easily save your favorite TikTok videos to your phone or computer.
If you’re new to TikTok and want to understand what it is and how it works, here’s our beginner’s guide to using TikTok.
Read the full article: How to Download TikTok Videos on Desktop and Mobile
