How to Turn on Saves on TikTok

Want more people saving your TikToks? It’s one of the strongest signals you can send the algorithm that your content is genuinely valuable. This guide walks you through the steps to turn on the download feature, explains why it's so important for growth, and gives you actionable strategies for creating content people can't help but save.

Why TikTok Saves Are a Big Win for Your Account

In the world of TikTok metrics, some actions carry more weight than others. While a "like" is a quick, low-effort nod, a "save" is a deliberate choice. When a viewer saves your video, they're not just saying, "I enjoyed this." They're saying, "This is so good, I need to come back to it later." This single action tells the TikTok algorithm several powerful things about your content:

• High Value: The content is perceived as useful, entertaining, or inspiring enough to be revisited. It’s not just disposable scrolling fodder, it’s a resource.
• Increased Re-watches: Saves naturally lead to more re-watches. When a user comes back to a saved video, they're watching it again, which boosts your total watch time - a huge factor in how TikTok pushes your content to new audiences.
• Potential for Shares: Often, people save videos with the intention of showing them to someone else later. That save might turn into a direct message, a text, or an "Airdrop" share later on, extending your video's reach beyond the platform.
• Audience Validation: For creators and brands, saves are a direct indicator that you're hitting the mark. You’ve created something that either solves a problem, offers a brilliant idea, provides a feeling someone wants to experience again, or is just too funny not to show a friend. This data is invaluable for shaping future content.

Essentially, saves are a vote of confidence. The more saves your video gets, the more likely TikTok is to push it onto more For You Pages, because you’ve proven that it has the power to stop the scroll and provide real value.

"Saves" vs. "Favorites": Understanding the Nuance

Before we go into the "how," it's helpful to clear up a common point of confusion. The term "save" on TikTok can actually refer to two different user actions, but as a creator, you only have control over one of them.

1. Favorites (The Bookmark Icon)

This is when a user taps the bookmark icon on the right side of your video. This action adds the TikTok to their private collection of "Favorited" videos within the app. Think of it as an internal bookmarking system. It's an incredibly strong engagement signal because it directly tells TikTok, "I want this video filed away in my personal library." As a creator, you can't force someone to do this, you can only earn it by creating excellent content.

2. Saves (The Download)

This is when a user long-presses your video (or hits Share -> Save Video) to download a watermarked copy directly to their device's camera roll. This is the feature you, as a creator, can turn on or off. By enabling downloads, you make it easy for viewers to save your video outside the app, allowing them to reference it offline or share it easily across other platforms like iMessage or WhatsApp.

While both are positive signals, this guide focuses on enabling the download function, as it’s a tangible setting you can control to maximize your content's reach and utility for your audience.

How to Turn on Video Downloads (Saves) on TikTok: A Step-by-Step Guide

Enabling downloads is a simple process you can set at the account level (so it applies to all future videos) or adjust for each individual video you post. Here’s how to do both.

How to Turn On Downloads for Your Entire Account

Setting this up once ensures that, by default, all the videos you post will have the download option available for viewers. This is the most efficient way to keep saves on.

1. Open the TikTok app and go to your Profile page by tapping the icon in the bottom-right corner.
2. Tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu) in the top-right corner to open the menu.
3. Select "Settings and privacy" from the options.
4. Inside this menu, tap on "Privacy".
5. Scroll down until you find the "Interactions" section. Tap on "Downloads".
6. You’ll see a toggle switch labeled 'Video downloads.' Make sure this toggle is switched to the ON position. It should be green.

That's it! Once this is enabled, other users on TikTok will now see the option to save your videos to their devices.

How to Manage Downloads for an Individual TikTok Video

Sometimes you need more granular control. Maybe you want saves turned off for one specific video but on for all others. You can manage this setting right before you hit "Post."

1. Record or upload your video and go through the editing screens as you normally would.
2. On the final "Post" screen - where you add your caption, hashtags, and select a cover - look for "More options" and tap it.
3. Scroll down within this menu, and you'll find a toggle for "Allow downloads".
4. If your account-level setting is on, this should be enabled by default. You can tap it here to turn it OFF for just this *one* video. If your account setting is off, you can tap it here to turn it ON for this single post.

Can You Turn Downloads Off After Posting?

Yes. If you change your mind about a video you've already published, you can still disable downloads for it:

1. Navigate to the video on your profile.
2. Tap the three dots (...) on the right side of the screen.
3. Swipe left on the bottom row of icons until you find "Privacy settings".
4. Here, you can toggle "Allow download" off for that specific video.

Why Would You Turn OFF Video Downloads?

If saves are so good for the algorithm, why does TikTok even provide the option to turn them off? There are a few scenarios where disabling downloads might make sense.

• Protecting Original Content: Although TikTok adds a watermark with your handle, some creators worry about their content being re-uploaded and "stolen" on other platforms without proper credit. Disabling downloads creates a small barrier against this, though a determined person can still screen-record.
• Promoting On-Platform Exclusivity: If your strategy is to make your TikTok account the *only* place to see your content, you might turn off saves. This forces people who want to see it again to return to your profile, driving up your profile views and re-watches directly within the app.
• Privacy Concerns: For personal accounts or videos with sensitive content, you might not want your video living on countless strangers’ phones. Turning off downloads gives you a bit more control over where your content ends up.

However, for most brands, businesses, and creators focused on growth, transparency and reach, the benefits of enabling saves generally far outweigh these concerns. The algorithmic boost and audience goodwill from allowing easy saves can be a powerful engine for building a community.

Beyond the Toggle: How to Create Content That Gets Saved

Enabling the "save" button is just the first step. The real challenge - and where growth happens - is creating content that’s compelling enough for people to want to hit that button. Here are five types of content proven to drive saves.

1. Educational & How-To Content

This is arguably the king of save-worthy content. Any video that teaches someone something new is a natural candidate for a save, because the viewer will want to reference it later.
Examples:

• A 15-second guide to propagating a houseplant.
• A quick tutorial on a popular Excel function.
• Step-by-step instructions for a viral coffee recipe.
• A fast tutorial showing how to use a specific feature in a software tool.

Pro Tip: Use clear, bold on-screen text to outline the steps so viewers can easily follow along without needing sound.

2. Valuable Lists & Resources

Listicles are easy to digest and packed with information. People save them so they don't have to remember every single item. Frame your advice or recommendations as a numbered or bulleted list that serves as a resource.
Examples:

• "5 books that changed my mindset as an entrepreneur."
• "Top 3 free apps every content creator needs."
• "My 7 must-have gadgets for a productive desk setup."

3. Inspiration (Visual or Mental)

Content that makes people feel something positive is often saved as a digital pick-me-up. This "save" is more emotional, driven by the desire to re-experience that feeling of motivation, calm, or wonder.
Examples:

• A jaw-dropping travel montage of a bucket-list destination.
• A short, impactful clip with a motivational quote narrated over it.
• A "before and after" of a challenging project, like a room renovation or a fitness transformation.
• Aesthetic clips of a cozy daily routine.

4. Perfectly Relatable Humor

"This is so me," or "I have to send this to [friend's name]" are the reactions that drive saves on humorous content. These are short, funny sketches or points-of-view that capture a universally shared experience so perfectly that the viewer wants to keep it in their arsenal to share with others.
Examples:

• A skit about the daily struggle of working from home.
• A POV video accurately depicting what it’s like inside a specific friend group.
• A lipsync video using trending audio that has a hilarious and relatable twist.

5. Use a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Never underestimate the power of asking directly. Your audience isn't always thinking about what action to take next, so guide them. A simple verbal cue or text overlay reminding them to save can dramatically increase your save rate.
Examples:

• Caption: "Save this for your next project!"
• On-screen text: "You're gonna want to save this for later."
• Verbal cue: "...and make sure you save this video so you can try it yourself!"

Combining these content strategies with an enabled download setting creates a powerful flywheel for engagement and growth on TikTok.

Final Thoughts

Turning on saves on TikTok is a quick technical setting that unlocks a massive opportunity for deeper audience connection and algorithmic favor. Ultimately, real success comes from adopting a mindset of creating value - making content so useful, entertaining, or inspiring that saving it becomes a natural reflex for your viewers.

Consistently creating that scroll-stopping, save-worthy content is a big enough job. That’s why we built Postbase - to handle the frustrating parts of social media management so you can focus on creativity. With our visual calendar, you can plan your TikToks weeks in advance, right alongside your Reels and Shorts, ensuring your content strategy is cohesive. It lets you focus on creating, not just managing.