How to Transfer TikTok Data

Moving your TikTok content from one place to another can mean a few different things - maybe you got a new phone and are horrified to find your drafts missing, or perhaps you want a personal backup of every comment you've ever made. Whatever your goal, getting your data where you need it doesn't have to be a headache. This guide breaks down exactly how to handle the most common TikTok data transfer scenarios, step-by-step.

Understanding What "Transferring TikTok Data" Really Means

Before we get into the "how," it's helpful to clarify what you're trying to accomplish. The term "transfer" can refer to several different actions, each with its own method. Are you trying to:

• Move your account to a new phone? This includes your profile, published videos, and drafts. A word of warning: it's not as simple as just logging in.
• Get a complete archive of your account activity? This means downloading a file containing your entire history - videos, comments, messages, profile information, and more.
• Save individual videos for other platforms? You might want to repurpose your top-performing TikToks for Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.
• Export your analytics for a report? If you use TikTok for marketing, you'll need the performance data to show what's working.

We'll cover all four of these situations, so you can jump to the section that fits your needs.

Method 1: Moving Your TikTok Account and Drafts to a New Phone

Getting a new phone is exciting until you realize your perfectly edited, ready-to-post TikTok drafts have vanished. This is a common and incredibly frustrating experience for creators. Here’s why it happens and the best way to handle it.

The Easy Part: Logging Into Your Account

Let's start with the good news. Anything you've already posted or that defines your public profile is stored on TikTok's servers, not your phone. This includes:

• Your username, bio, and profile picture
• All of your published videos
• Your followers and the accounts you follow
• The likes and comments you've received
• The videos you've liked and saved to your favorites

To get all of this back on a new device, all you need to do is download the TikTok app and log in with your username and password, or whichever method you originally used to sign up. All your public content and account information will appear just as it was on your old phone. Phew.

The Problem: Your Drafts Are Stored Locally

Now for the not-so-good news. Your drafts are the one major exception. TikTok drafts are saved directly to your phone's local storage, not to your account in the cloud. When you log in on a new device, the app has no way to access the files saved on your old one, so your drafts folder will be empty.

This is intentional, likely to save on server space, but it's a huge pain point for creators who batch-create content and save it in drafts to post later. Unfortunately, there is no official "draft transfer" feature to solve this.

The Best Workaround: How to Manually "Transfer" Drafts

While you can't move the editable draft file itself, you can save the video content and move it to your new phone. It requires a few extra steps and you'll lose the ability to make changes in the TikTok editor, but it ensures your work isn't lost forever.

Follow these steps on your OLD phone:

1. Open TikTok and go to your profile. Tap on the "Drafts" folder to see all your saved videos.
2. Select a draft you want to save. This will open it up in the final posting screen.
3. Change the privacy setting. Tap on "Who can watch this video" and change it to "Only me." This is the most important step - it ensures the video won't go out to your followers.
4. Adjust other settings (optional but recommended). Turn on the toggle for "Save to device." This will save a clean copy of the finished video to your phone's photo gallery after you post it. It's a great backup.
5. Post the video. Tap "Post." The video will now be published to your account, but it will be in your private tab (marked with a lock icon) where only you can see it.
6. Repeat for all your drafts. Yes, this can be time-consuming if you have a lot, so put on some music and power through it.

Now, once all your drafts have been posted privately, you can move over to your NEW phone.

On your NEW phone:

1. Log in to your TikTok account.
2. Go to your profile and tap the tab with the lock icon. You'll see all the videos you just posted privately.
3. From here, you have two options:
   • Repurpose As-Is: You can simply change the privacy of a video from "Only me" to "Everyone" to post it publicly. The drawback is you won't be able to edit it, add a trending sound, or change the caption timing.
   • Re-Upload and Edit: Tap on the private video you want to use, then tap the three dots (...) and select "Save video." This downloads it to your new phone. Now, you can tap the "+" button to create a new TikTok, upload the video you just saved, and add new text, effects, a trending sound, and a fresh caption before posting.

Method 2: Requesting a Full Backup of All Your TikTok Data

If you're looking for a comprehensive backup of your entire account history for security or personal archiving, you can request your data directly from TikTok. The platform will package your information into a downloadable file. This is useful if you're ever worried about losing your account or want a record of your activity.

Step-by-Step Guide to Downloading Your TikTok Data

The process is straightforward and only takes a minute to initiate.

1. Open the TikTok app and go to your Profile.
2. Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner.
3. Select "Settings and privacy."
4. Tap on "Account."
5. Choose "Download your data."
6. You'll be asked to choose a file format: TXT (a human-readable text file) or JSON (a machine-readable format that's easy to import into other applications). For most people just wanting to look at their info, TXT is fine.
7. Tap the red "Request data" button at the bottom.

After you submit your request, TikTok will begin preparing your file. This isn't instant, it can take up to a few days. Once it's ready, you'll receive a notification. Your data file will be available under the "Download data" tab in the app for up to four days before it expires, so be sure to download it promptly.

What's Included in Your Data Download?

The file is surprisingly thorough. It contains a log of almost everything you've ever done on the app, including:

• Your Profile Information: Username, bio, profile photo, contact info.
• Your Activity: A complete history of your comments, chats, likes, favorites, and login history.
• Your Video History: A list of all the videos you've published, including their captions and dates. Note: This is a list, not the actual MP4 video files.
• Your App Settings: Your privacy preferences, notification settings, and language.

Method 3: Downloading Individual TikTok Videos (Without a Watermark)

Repurposing your best content on other platforms is smart social media marketing. Posting your TikToks on Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts can dramatically expand your reach. However, these platforms tend to suppress videos that have a competing watermark. Here's how to download your videos cleanly.

A quick note on etiquette: Only use these methods for your own content. Downloading and reposting another creator's work without permission is a violation of their intellectual property.

The Official Way: Saving from the App

The easiest method is to use TikTok's built-in save feature. Simply navigate to the video, tap the "Share" icon (the arrow), and hit "Save video." The downside? It will always come with that floating TikTok watermark.

The Unofficial Way: Using Third-Party Tools

To get a clean, watermark-free version, you'll need to use an external tool. There are many websites and apps designed for this. While we can't recommend specific ones (as they change frequently), the process is almost always the same:

1. Copy the video link. Go to the TikTok video you want to download. Tap the "Share" icon and then tap "Copy Link."
2. Find a TikTok downloader tool. Use a search engine to look for a "TikTok video downloader" website.
3. Paste the link in the tool's website. Find the text box on the site and paste your video link.
4. Download the video. The site will process the link and provide a download link for the MP4 file without the watermark.

A strong word of caution: Be careful when using these sites. Many are filled with aggressive pop-up ads and can be a security risk. Never download any software they prompt you to install and don't provide any personal information.

Method 4: Exporting Your TikTok Analytics Data

If you're a business, brand, or influencer, data is everything. You need to know which videos are resonating, where your audience is from, and when they're most active. TikTok provides a robust analytics dashboard, and you can export that data to use in reports or spreadsheets.

Step 1: Switch to a 'Business' or 'Creator' Account

First, you must have a Business or Creator account to access the analytics suite. If you have a Personal account, you can switch for free. Go to Settings and privacy &rarr, Account &rarr, Switch to Business Account and follow the prompts. You won't lose any of your existing content or followers.

Step 2: Access and Export Your Data

Once you have the right account type, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Profile and tap the hamburger menu.
2. Select "Creator Tools" or "Business Suite."
3. Tap on "Analytics."
4. Here, you can select a custom date range (e.g., last 28 days, last 60 days, or a custom range) to see your performance over time.
5. In the top right-hand corner of the Overview tab, you will see an Export button. Tap it.
6. TikTok will generate a CSV or Excel spreadsheet file with your key metrics, such as video views, profile views, likes, comments, shares, follower counts, and more for the selected date range. You can then save this file to your device or cloud storage.

This exported data is perfect for creating performance reports, tracking your KPIs over time, or sharing insights with your team or clients.

Final Thoughts

Whether you're moving to a new phone, archiving your account, or reporting on content performance, "transferring" your TikTok data is entirely possible once you know which method to use. Knowing how to save everything from drafts to video files and analytics gives you full control over the content you work hard to create.

After you’ve successfully backed up your best videos and analyzed your data, the next challenge is keeping your content flowing smoothly across all platforms. At Postbase, we built our tool to solve that very problem. Instead of wrestling with multiple apps, you can use our simple visual calendar to schedule content - including your repurposed TikToks - everywhere at once. And keeping track of performance is easy since we pull all your analytics into one clean dashboard, making complex reporting a thing of the past. If you're looking for a smarter way to manage your socials, check out Postbase.