Here’s How To Save Your Favorite TikToks In Case The App Gets Banned

The recent updates that TikTok could be banned in the U.S. has many avid users reeling. (Uh, no pun intended.) Creators are already declaring the apps that’ll replace TikTok if it disappears, while lurkers are breaking their Screen Time trying to savor every last moment of the video-sharing platform. While a ban is far from a guarantee — Microsoft is in talks to buy the app from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, thus eliminating the security concerns that prompted Trump’s declaration in the first place — Hype House heads and frogtokers alike are trying to save their favorite TikToks, should there come a time where the app is no longer available. (Because nothing will replicate the absolute dopamine rush of hearing “mi pan, zhu zhu zhu.”) But what if you can’t save videos on TikTok?

How To Save Videos On TikTok

First things first, you should make sure you’re headed to the right place to save your favorite roller skating vids to your camera roll. In the mobile app, on iOS or Android, simply pull up a video you want to save. You can head to your Profile, then hit the heart icon in the middle of the page, to pull up all the ‘Toks you’ve liked, or hit the flag icon next to “Edit Profile” to show any that you’ve saved in-app.

Once you have the video open, simply press down on your screen to pull up an options menu, where you should see “save video.” Simply click that, and the clip will download to your camera roll. You can also tap the arrow-shaped icon on the right side of the screen, which will pull up the menu you use to DM TikToks to your friends. That also has a “save video” option.

Why Can’t I Save Videos On TikTok?

If you don’t see a save option through either of the above methods, that means the video’s creator has blocked downloads from their account, per Influencer Marketing Hub. That doesn’t mean you *can’t* save those videos for later, it just means you have to be a little sneaky about it. Influencer Marketing Hub rounded up apps to download TikToks for Android and iOS that bypass this block, including Video Downloader for TikTok on Android and Total Files on iOS. Simply download your app of choice and follow the individual instructions for saving videos — usually, you’ll have to paste the permalink to the video, which you can grab by clicking “copy link” in the above menus. If you use iOS 11 or later, you can also save TikToks by recording your screen.

There might be a reason a creator specifically turned their block download function on, so it’s worth considering if you *really* need to save that storytime for future viewing. But since the answer is likely yes — I know plenty of TikToks I’ve watched over the months have been nothing short of formative — now you know how to keep them on your camera roll for endless loops, even if the app doesn’t end up getting banned. Cue the “just did a good thing” sound.