TikTok drafts are a useful feature that allows users to save videos they’re still working on or not ready to post. However, many users face a common problem—losing their drafts after deleting or uninstalling the TikTok app. If you’ve recently deleted TikTok and are wondering how to get your drafts back, here’s a detailed explanation of what happens and whether recovery is possible.
How TikTok Drafts Work
When you save a draft on TikTok, the video is stored locally on your device—not on TikTok’s servers. This means the drafts are not backed up to your TikTok account or the cloud. If you uninstall the app, your drafts are automatically deleted because they are not stored online.
Once deleted, TikTok does not offer a built-in way to recover those lost drafts.
What Happens When You Delete TikTok
Deleting the app from your phone removes all local data, including:
- Saved drafts
- App cache
- Offline content
While your account details, posted videos, and likes are preserved (since they are stored in the cloud), drafts are permanently deleted unless backed up manually.
Can You Recover Deleted TikTok Drafts?
Unfortunately, you cannot recover deleted drafts directly through TikTok once the app has been uninstalled. However, there are a few preventive and backup methods you can use in the future to avoid this issue.
What You Can Try (If App Was Not Fully Deleted)
- Check your phone’s internal storage or file manager:
In rare cases, if you only disabled the app (rather than fully deleting it), the drafts might still exist in the TikTok folder under:- Android: Internal Storage > Android > data > com.zhiliaoapp.musically
- iPhone: Access is limited, but iCloud backup might help if enabled.
However, these files are usually inaccessible and encrypted without the TikTok app, so recovery is not guaranteed.
- Check if you made a backup before uninstalling:
If you had backed up your phone using services like Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone), you may restore your phone to a point before TikTok was deleted—though this comes with risks like overwriting newer data.
Preventing Draft Loss in the Future
Since recovery is nearly impossible once deleted, the best solution is prevention. Here’s how to avoid losing TikTok drafts again:
- Save Drafts to Your Camera Roll
Before uninstalling TikTok or clearing storage:
- Open the draft you want to keep.
- Tap “Next” as if you’re going to post the video.
- Under “Who can view this video,” select “Only me”.
- Then hit “Post”—this will upload the video privately.
- Once posted, go to your profile, open the video, and save it to your camera roll.
Alternatively:
- Use screen recording to manually save a draft if posting privately is not preferred.
- Use Cloud Backup Tools
- Upload important drafts to Google Photos, Dropbox, or iCloud Drive.
- This provides a cloud-based backup even if the app is deleted.
- Avoid Uninstalling Without Saving
Always check your drafts before deleting the app or doing a phone reset. If you must uninstall TikTok, export or save any valuable content first.
Also Read: How to Add Captions to TikTok
