How to Save a Tiktok Draft to the Camera Roll?

Social media users love using the Tiktok app to record and edit viral videos. They apply background music, funny filters and add captions & stickers to make viral entertaining short video clips. Generally, people use Tiktok to watch and share viral videos that are published for all to see. However sometimes, users prefer to edit and save their Tiktok video drafts to their local device, instead of sharing them immediately with the world. Perhaps they want to edit the drafts further in another app, or using professional video editing tools on a PC. Or they are just trying out different versions of a video at first. With iterations and improvements, they will come up with the perfect edit to share with their followers and go viral!
For all these reasons, Tiktok users wish to download and save their Tiktok Drafts locally to their camera roll or gallery. Doing this can be confusing for users because there is no straightforward option given by Tiktok. However, you can certainly save your Tiktok clips to your device with these simple steps.
Step by Step Instructions to Save Tiktok Drafts to Camera Roll or Gallery
1. Save the video as Draft
- Open the Tiktok app.
- Create a new video clip, or upload an existing video from your device.
- Add music, filters, etc. and edit the video as you wish.
- Click on Next arrow, and choose Drafts instead of Post. Your video is saved to the Drafts section in the Tiktok app.
- Tiktok Drafts are saved in a peculiar way: They are not saved on Tiktok servers, they are stored locally. However, they are not visible in your Gallery or Camera Roll. And if you were to Uninstall the Tiktok app, your drafts will be deleted permanently.
Hence we need to do the next step, to save your Tiktok Drafts permanently to your local device in your Camera Roll or Gallery.
2. Post the Draft Privately with "Save to Device" enabled
- Now go to your Drafts section and select the video of your choice.
- You can edit it more if you wish.
- Then when you are ready to Save it to your Gallery or Camera Roll, tap on the Next arrow till you are on the screen with the Post button.
- But do two steps before you hit that Post button.
- For "Who can watch this video" select "Only me" or "Private".
- Then, go to "More option" and enable "Save to Device".
- Now, you can post the draft, and it will be saved to your device. You will see the Tiktok draft is present in your Camera Roll or Gallery.
- Optionally, you can delete the private video from your profile. Just tap on the three dots, scroll right through the options, select delete and confirm deletion.
In this way, you have recorded and edited a Tiktok video as a Draft, and then downloaded it locally by posting it privately with the "save to device" option enabled.
Similar Tips for Instagram: Instagram Drafts: How to Save, Post & Delete Them?
Summary
You can use the Tiktok app to edit video clips on your smartphone. You don't always have to post and share your Tiktok creations publicly. It is possible to save your ongoing edits as Drafts. You can keep returning to your Drafts to make them better with further edits, like different filters and more video clips. But the problem with Tiktok Drafts is that they are not visible in your Camera Roll or Gallery. So, if you wish to permanently save a Tiktok Draft locally to your device, and have them in your Gallery or Camera Roll, follow the above steps. In a nutshell, you enable the "Save to Device" option which automatically downloads the Tiktok video when you post it. And you change the privacy of the video to "Only me" or "Private" before posting it, to ensure that no one else can see your work-in-progress or personal video.
