How to Transfer Videos from Instagram to TikTok

Got a killer video on Instagram Reels you know would crush it on TikTok? Instead of remaking it from scratch, you can move it over in just a few minutes. This guide will walk you through the simple methods for transferring your Instagram videos to TikTok, so you can save time, expand your reach, and keep your content creation workflow moving smoothly.

Why Repurpose Your Instagram Videos for TikTok?

Before getting into the how-to, it's worth a quick look at why this is such a powerful strategy for creators and brands. If you're managing social media, you know the single biggest challenge is having enough high-quality content to post consistently. Repurposing isn’t about being lazy, it's about being efficient.

• Saves Time and Energy: Video creation is a serious time sink. Filming, editing, and perfecting a single short-form video can take hours. Repurposing allows you to get double the value from that initial effort without going through the entire production process a second time.
• Maximizes Your Content's Reach: Your audience on Instagram and your audience on TikTok are not identical. Even with an overlap, posting on both platforms exposes your content to thousands, or even millions, of new viewers who might have missed it otherwise.
• Maintains Brand Consistency: Posting the same core content across platforms helps reinforce your brand’s message, aesthetic, and voice. When followers see your consistent style on both Instagram and TikTok, it builds familiarity and trust.
• Tests Platform-Specific Performance: What performs well on Instagram might perform differently on TikTok due to its unique algorithm and user behavior. A video that gets moderate engagement on Reels could become a viral hit on TikTok after being paired with a trending sound. Repurposing is a low-risk way to test your content on a new playing field.

The Big Hurdle: Getting Rid of the Instagram Watermark

There's just one catch when moving content between these two platforms: the watermark. When you download a Reel you've already posted, Instagram adds its logo and your username to the video. TikTok’s algorithm knows this. In fact, most social platforms can detect watermarks from competing apps and will often limit the reach of that video. They want original, native content, not obvious crossposts.

So, your goal is always to upload a clean, watermark-free video to TikTok. It’s a small extra step, but it signals to the algorithm that your content is high-quality and created for its platform, which can dramatically improve its performance. The following methods will cover how to do just that.

Method 1: Save the Video Directly from the Instagram Editor (The Best Practice)

Hands down, the smartest and most effective workflow is to save your video before you officially post it to Instagram. This gives you a high-quality, watermark-free master copy that you can use anywhere. This "edit once, publish everywhere" approach is what professional social media managers do to stay efficient.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Create and Edit Your Video: Open the Instagram app and go to the Reels editor. Upload your clips, trim them, add filters, voiceovers, timers, and any text overlays you want to appear on both platforms.
2. Do Not Add Music Yet: This part is important. Do not select a trending song from Instagram’s music library at this stage. Instead, plan to add music natively within each app later. This allows you to use TikTok's trending sounds, which is a major factor in discoverability on that platform.
3. Download the Video: Before you hit "Share" to post your Reel, look for a download icon at the top of the editing screen (it looks like an arrow pointing down). Tap it. This will save the fully edited - but music-free and watermark-free - video directly to your phone's camera roll.
4. Publish to Instagram: Now you can go back, add your desired audio from Instagram’s library, write your caption, and share your Reel as you normally would.
5. Upload and Publish to TikTok: Open the TikTok app and upload the clean video you just saved to your phone. Now you can add a trending sound from TikTok's library, tweak the caption for a TikTok audience, add relevant TikTok hashtags, and publish.

This method gives you the best of both worlds: a pristine video file and the ability to leverage the native features and trending audio specific to each platform, maximizing your chances of getting picked up by each algorithm.

Method 2: Use an Online Tool to Download a Posted Reel

What if you forgot to save the video before you posted it? Or maybe you want to repurpose an older video that’s already live on your Instagram feed. No problem. You’ll just need a little help from a third-party tool. Instagram doesn't offer a feature to download published Reels without a watermark, but plenty of free websites do.

These online downloaders work by taking the public link to your Reel and extracting the original source video file before the watermark is applied.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Copy the Instagram Reel Link:
   • Open the Instagram app and navigate to the Reel you want to download.
   • Tap the three-dot icon (...) to open the menu.
   • Select "Link" or "Copy Link" to copy the URL to your clipboard.
2. Choose a Third-Party Downloader: Open the web browser on your phone or computer and search for "Instagram Reel downloader." You’ll find many options. Some popular and generally reliable sites include Snapinsta, iGram, or SaveFromNet. Disclaimer: Be cautious when using third-party websites. Stick to well-known options and avoid sites that ask for your login information or have excessive pop-up ads.
3. Paste the Link and Download:
   • On the downloader website, you’ll see a field where you can paste a URL.
   • Paste the Reel link you copied from Instagram.
   • Click the "Download" or "Go" button.
   • The website will process the link and generate a download link for the video file, usually in MP4 format. Tap to save it to your device.
4. Upload to TikTok: Now that you have the clean video on your phone, you can open TikTok and upload it just like you would any other video.

Method 3: The Quick (But Low-Quality) Last Resort - Screen Recording

Let's say you're in a huge hurry and the other methods aren't working for you. There is one more option: screen recording. This isn’t the recommended approach because it results in lower video quality and can accidentally capture parts of the Instagram user interface, but it works in a pinch.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Open the Reel on Instagram: Go to the Reel you want to post and let it play loop in full-screen mode.
2. Start Screen Recording: Swipe down on your phone's control center (on iPhone) or quick settings menu (on Android) and tap the "Screen Record" button.
3. Let the Video Play: Allow the entire Reel to play through from beginning to end at least once while your screen is being recorded. Be careful not to let any notifications pop up on your screen.
4. Stop Recording: Swipe down again and tap the "Stop" button. The recording will be saved to your phone's photo gallery.
5. Trim the Video: Open the saved screen recording in your phone's editor. Trim the beginning and end to remove the parts where you were starting and stopping the recording.
6. Upload to TikTok: You can now upload this trimmed clip to TikTok. Keep in mind that the Instagram watermark and other UI elements might still be visible, and the audio quality will be weaker.

Final Check: Best Practices for Reposting to TikTok

Getting the video file is only half the battle. To give your repurposed video the best chance of success on TikTok, you should make a few quick adjustments to make it feel native to the platform.

• Change the On-Screen Text: TikTok's text style is an integral part of its culture. If you used Instagram's text feature, consider removing it and replacing it with TikTok’s native text editor. It signals to users and the algorithm that the video was made for TikTok.
• Use Trending TikTok Audio: This is a big one. Even if your original Reel had a killer soundtrack, swap it out for a sound that’s currently trending on TikTok. Tap the "Add sound" button at the top of the editing screen on TikTok to browse trending audio.
• Adjust Your Caption and Hashtags: Effective captions and hashtags differ between the two platforms. TikTok captions are often shorter and more punchy. Research a handful of relevant, trending hashtags on TikTok instead of just copying and pasting your Instagram hashtags.
• Check Your Timing: TikTok is all about fast-paced edits and trends. If your original video has a slow intro, consider trimming the first one or two seconds to get straight to the action. That immediate hook is absolutely essential on the platform's "For You" Page.

Final Thoughts

Moving your video content from Instagram to TikTok is a time-saving strategy that any smart creator should have in their toolkit. The best workflow is always to save a watermark-free version of your video before you publish it anywhere, but if you forget, online downloaders offer a reliable backup plan. By repurposing your content effectively, you get more value out of your hard work and grow your audience on multiple platforms at once.

As you start managing content for both Instagram and TikTok, keeping track of what’s been posted and what’s scheduled can get complicated. At Postbase, we built our platform specifically for this modern, short-form video workflow. Our visual content calendar lets you see all your scheduled Reels and TikToks side-by-side, so you can easily plan your strategy. You can upload your clean video file once and schedule it for both platforms, customizing the captions, audio recommendations, and hashtags for each without starting from scratch - making your repurposing process even more efficient.