How to Edit Text on TikTok

Nothing sinks a great TikTok faster than a glaring typo or text that vanishes a second too soon. Mastering TikTok’s text editor is about making your message land with impact, showing your audience exactly what you want, when you want them to see it. This guide covers everything from the basics of styling your text to the clever workarounds you need when you spot a mistake after hitting “post.”

The Fundamentals: Adding and Styling Text on TikTok

Before you get into advanced timing, you need to get comfortable with the basics. TikTok’s text editor gives you a surprising amount of control to make your text a seamless, engaging part of your video, rather than just an afterthought.

How to Add a Text Overlay

First things first, let’s get some words on the screen. After you’ve recorded or uploaded your video clip and are in the main editing screen (where you see options for Sounds, Effects, etc. on the right), follow these simple steps:

1. Tap the "Text" icon (represented by "Aa") in the right-hand editing toolbar.
2. A text entry box will appear. Type your message.
3. Once you're done typing, you'll see a range of styling options appear around your text box.

That's it. Your text is now on your video, ready to be customized.

Styling Your Text to Match Your Vibe

Plain white text gets the job done, but styled text captures attention. Here’s a breakdown of the tools at your disposal:

• Fonts: On the left side of the screen, you’ll see several font options, from classic and bold to script and typewriter styles. Tap through them to find one that fits your video’s aesthetic.
• Color: The colored circles at the bottom of the screen let you change your text color. Swipe left to see more options beyond the default palette. This is perfect for making your text legible against different backgrounds.
• Highlight/Background: The "A" icon with a box around it (located just above the color circles) adds a background or highlight to your text. You can choose different colors and opacity levels. Use this to make your text pop, especially on busy, hard-to-read backgrounds.
• Alignment: The icon with lines on it lets you switch between left, center, and right alignment. This is great for creating cleanly formatted text blocks or for positioning your text neatly in a corner.

Don’t Forget Text-to-Speech and Captions

While styling your text, you’ll also notice two powerful accessibility features:

• Text-to-Speech: After styling your text, tap the icon of a person's head with soundwaves. This will give you a list of voice options that can read your text out loud. It’s a hugely popular feature for adding narration or a comedic effect to your videos.
• Auto-Captions: On the main editing screen, look for the "Captions" icon. This tool will automatically transcribe the audio from your video and turn it into timed text overlays. It's an absolute game-changer for making your content accessible to viewers watching with the sound off. You can edit the generated captions for accuracy before creating your video.

Timing is Everything: How to Set the Duration of Your Text

The single most powerful text-editing feature on TikTok is the ability to control exactly when your text appears and disappears. This allows you to create suspense, reveal punchlines, sync text to sound cues, and guide your viewer's attention through a story.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Add Your Text: First, add and style the text you want to time, then tap "Done.”
2. Select Your Text: Tap on the text overlay you just created on your video preview. You'll see two options pop up: "Set duration" and "Edit."
3. Tap "Set duration": This will open up a timeline view at the bottom of the screen showing your entire video clip. Your text will be represented by a red bar over this timeline.
4. Adjust the Timing: Use your finger to drag the handles on the left and right ends of the red bar. The left handle controls when the text appears, and the right handle controls when it disappears. You can make the text appear for the entire video or just a fraction of a second.
5. Repeat and Layer: You can repeat this process for multiple pieces of text. For instance, you could have one sentence appear for the first three seconds, another one for the next three, and a final call to action at the end. They will appear as separate layers in the “Set duration” timeline, allowing you to fine-tune each one without affecting the others.

Pro Tip: Use this feature to subtitle what someone is saying, highlight a specific product in a demonstration right as it appears, or build a joke sentence by sentence. It elevates your video from a simple clip to a dynamic piece of content.

The Big Question: Can You Edit Text on a TikTok After Posting?

Let's get this out of the way immediately: No, you cannot directly edit the text overlay on a TikTok video once it has been published.

Once you hit that post button, the text you added, its styling, and its timing are "burned" into the video file. Think of it like a permanent graphic. TikTok doesn't currently offer a feature to go back into a live video and change the text overlays. This is a massive pain point for creators, but understanding this limitation is the first step toward finding a solution that works.

So what do you do when you notice a glaring typo or wrong date spelling out to your thousands of followers? Don't panic. You have a few smart workarounds.

Smart Workarounds for Fixing Text on a Published TikTok

While you can't hit a simple "edit" button, you have several options for correcting a mistake. The path you choose depends on how significant the error is and how much engagement the video has already received.

Method 1: The Save and Re-upload (The "Nuke-and-Pave" approach)

This is the most common solution for major errors. You essentially delete the old video and post a new, corrected version. It ensures your profile is free from the mistake, but it comes with a major downside: you will lose all the likes, comments, shares, and views from the original post.

Here's how to do it correctly:

1. Save Your Original Video: Go to the TikTok with the typo. Tap the three dots (...) on the right side of the screen and select "Save video." This will download the video - with the original (but incorrect) text - to your phone's camera roll. Note: It will have a TikTok watermark on it.
2. Delete the Old Post (Optional but Recommended): Once saved, tap the three dots again and select "Delete" to remove the video with the incorrect text from your profile.
3. Create a New TikTok: Start a new post and tap the "Upload" button. Select the video you just saved from your camera roll.
4. Add Your Corrected Text: Now, simply go through the standard text editing process to add your new, corrected text. You'll also need to re-select any sounds or filters you used.
5. Publish Your New Video: Post the corrected video to your profile.

When to use this method: Use this for significant errors, like a wrong date, a critical misspelling, or incorrect information that could mislead your audience. If the video only has a few dozen views, this is an easy decision.

Method 2: Edit the Caption

Here's a lifesaver you might not know about. While you can't edit the burned-in video text, TikTok does let you edit the post's caption (the text description below the video) for up to 7 days after posting.

This is a great, low-effort way to correct minor text overlay typos without deleting the video.

1. Go to the TikTok video you need to update.
2. Tap the three dots (...) icon.
3. Swipe left on the bottom row of options until you see "Edit post."
4. From here, you can edit your caption and hashtags. A great way to fix a typo is to add a small note to the beginning of your caption, like: "*Correction: The third word should be 'their,' not 'there'!"
5. Save your changes.

When to use this method: Perfect for small typos where most viewers will understand what you meant anyway. It acknowledges the error without sacrificing your video's momentum.

Method 3: Pin a Comment

This is arguably the easiest and most effective workaround for most situations. Pinning a comment moves it to the very top of your comments section, making it the first thing people see when they engage with your post.

1. Open the comment section on your video.
2. Write a new comment yourself that addresses the correction. For example: "Whoops, looks like my keyboard had a mind of its own! 😅 That should say 2024, not 2023!"
3. Once your comment is posted, long-press on it.
4. An option will appear to "Pin comment." Tap it.

Your correction is now front and center for everyone to see. It’s transparent, easy, and preserves all your hard-earned engagement.

When to use this method: Ideal for nearly all mistakes, big or small. It’s especially good for videos that have already gained significant traction, as it doesn't require deleting anything.

Final Thoughts

Editing text before you post is straightforward once you're familiar with the tools, especially the powerful “Set duration” feature. However, fixing mistakes after publishing requires a different approach. For small errors, pinning a comment or editing the caption is a fast and easy fix that preserves your engagement, while more significant blunders may demand the save and re-upload method.

Planning content in advance is one of the best ways to catch these little mistakes before they become a problem. We built Postbase because we knew there had to be a simpler way to manage social media without wrestling with clunky tools unfit for a video-first world. Using our visual calendar, you can plan your TikToks weeks ahead, tweak all your videos and captions in one clean space, and see exactly what's going live ahead of time - which saves you the headache of deleting a viral video because of a tiny typo.