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How to Download TikTok Videos (Without a Watermark)

Whether you're downloading your own videos or the public posts of other users, it's totally possible to grab a TikTok video and shave off that watermark as you do it.

By Eric Griffith
Updated January 12, 2024
Image: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Prykhodov (Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Prykhodov)

TikTok makes it extremely easy to watch, create, and share videos—but what if you want to download one? What if you're a content creator who wants to share your perfect video elsewhere (like Reels, or Spotlight, or YouTube Shorts)? Or what if you simply must have one of your favorite videos to keep forever? (You know, for your own personal use, not for profit, so as not to infringe the intellectual property rights of the original maker, because that would be a crappy move on your part.) How do you download that video, and without the TikTok logo watermark dead-center on the video? Here's how.


Grab TikTok Videos With the Watermark

This is the easiest way to download a TikTok video, because you can instantly do it on your mobile device, right from within the TikTok app.

To make it happen, simply hold down a finger on the video, and in the menu that pops up, tap Save Video at the top. (Note: this only works if the creator marks the video as "Public." If it's listed as "Private," you won't see the save option.) The video is placed in your phone's camera roll, and you'll see options to share the video from there to SMS, Facebook, WhatsApp, or other services.

If you just want a little snippet of a TikTok video to use as an animated GIF, that's also an option—click the share button (the arrow pointing right) and look at the gray icons at the bottom. One is Save video, like above, but scroll a bit and you'll see the option for Share as GIF.

You can also easily save videos on the desktop via Tiktok.com or the desktop TikTok app. Just right-click on the video to get the option. Or share directly to your WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest account. That's the right thing to do if you want others to see it. (You don't get the Share as GIF option on the desktop, however.)

TikTok downloads on the desktop.
TikTok downloads on the desktop. (Credit: PCMag)

The upside for the content creator is that the TikTok logo watermark, complete with the creator's name, equals instant branding. But not everyone wants the watermark. Especially if it's your video in the first place, and you plan to re-post it to other services, to maximize reach without duplicating effort. What's the fix?


Get Rid of the TikTok Watermark

To ditch the watermark on videos you've already downloaded, video tools like iMyFone MarkGo ($29.99 on Windows or $38.99 on macOS), RemoveLogoNow ($59.99 on Windows), or Apowersoft Online Video Watermark Remover (on the web) can do the job. But results can look sloppy because they essentially blur the watermark by adding extra pixels to the video frames. That's not great when you pay for your software like those above, though many are cheaper by the month if you only need them for a limited time.

This method might work okay for some videos, especially if the background is still. But it can ruin auto-generated captions or overlay text in the video, close to the center of the frame.

VIDEO PROC VLOGGER
(Credit: VideoProc Vlogger)

A slightly better option is video-editing software like the free VideoProc Vlogger, which covers the watermark with your own logo or some other image, even an animated GIF. It's like adding a GIF sticker to the video that could have been added when the video was uploaded to TikTok.


Grab TikToks Without the Watermark

The best bet is to download the video without any watermark in the first place, for free. For this to work, you need third-party apps and helper websites, for which you'll need the URL for the individual TikTok videos.

Musically Down is a helper website with a good look (despite ad-traps vying for your clicks) and a concise how-to video. But all of these sites work the same. Enter a link for a TikTok video or a song listed on the service, and you'll get a quick preview, including the video's title, and options to grab it as an MP4 video or sometimes as an MP3 audio file.

Other helper websites include SaveTik and SnapTik. Download helper sites tend to work just fine on mobile, and even handle TikTok vids that are marked as private.

If you prefer the mobile app route there's SaveTok (on iOS and Android) and RepostTic (iOS), among others.

Both the sites and the apps seem to occasionally run into legal troubles and get shut down or lose features. So bookmark a couple of them if this is a habit.

PC users who want dedicated desktop software for this task should consider 4K Tokkit, a $15 program for Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu Linux. You can pay more for unlimited downloads per day, and even download entire batches based on hashtags. It's from the makers of our favorite tool for downloading YouTube videos, 4K Video Downloader. In fact, that full-featured 4K Video Downloader will also grab video from TikTok. But it doesn't strip out the watermark, at least not in the free version.

VideoDuke software
VideoDuke (Credit: VideoDuke)

Mac-specific users can check out VideoDuke ($29.95), which promises to get rid of the watermark, but only provides two downloads for free. Other downloaders that support TikTok and offer a free trial with limited downloads/features include SnapDownloader, DVDVideoSoft's Free TikTok Downloader, and Qoob Clips.


One more tip: Beware copyrighted sounds. If you download a TikTok video—even if it's your own—and it includes audio that is the intellectual property of someone else, it doesn't matter if it is okay on TikTok, which provides a library of sounds. Services like Facebook use AI algorithms to monitor uploads for that kind of thing. At best, they'll let you upload a video sans audio; at worst, they'll shut you out. Use TikTok's sister app CapCut or other video editors like Inshot (iOS and Android) or Splice (iOS and Android) to strip out the audio, as well as do more serious editing. All are available for iOS or Android.


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About Eric Griffith

Senior Editor, Features

I've been writing about computers, the internet, and technology professionally for over 30 years, more than half of that time with PCMag. I run several special projects including the Readers' Choice and Business Choice surveys, and yearly coverage of the Best ISPs and Best Gaming ISPs, plus Best Products of the Year and Best Brands. I work from my home, and did it long before pandemics made it cool.

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