--- title: "How to Save a TikTok to Your Mac (Every Situation, 2026)" description: "Step-by-step ways to get a TikTok onto your Mac: from your phone, your own videos and drafts, straight from a link, just one part of it, or only the audio." date: "2026-10-13" author: "Frederik Hypky" slug: "how-to-save-tiktok-mac" tags: ["tiktok", "mac", "tutorial"] --- # How to Save a TikTok to Your Mac **The short answer:** open the TikTok in the app on your phone, tap **Share → Save video**, then AirDrop it to your Mac. The file lands in your Mac's Downloads folder. It is free and takes under a minute, and the video keeps TikTok's watermark with the creator's username. That covers most cases. The rest of this guide is for when it does not: the Save option is missing, the video is your own, you want to work without your phone, you only need a few seconds of it, or you only want the sound. TikTok moves its menus around often. If a button is not exactly where this guide says, look in the same menu under a similar name. Written in October 2026. --- ## Which method do you need? | Your situation | Best method | Cost | |---|---|---| | Someone else's public TikTok, watermark is fine | 1. Save video, then AirDrop | Free | | Your own TikTok or draft | 2. Your own videos | Free | | You want to do it on the Mac, from a link | 3. Straight from the link | Free or paid | | You only want part of the video | 4. Trim it | Free or paid | | You only want the sound | 5. Audio only | Free | --- ## 1. From your phone: Save video, then AirDrop This is TikTok's own download, and it is the method to try first. 1. Open the TikTok in the app. 2. Tap **Share** (the arrow on the right side of the video). 3. Tap **Save video**. It saves to your phone's camera roll. 4. **iPhone:** open Photos, select the video, tap Share → **AirDrop** → your Mac. It arrives in **Downloads**. 5. **Android:** AirDrop is not available. Upload the file to a cloud drive such as Google Drive from the share sheet, then download it on your Mac. If you use iCloud Photos on both devices, you can skip AirDrop: the video appears in the Photos app on your Mac by itself, usually within a minute or two. Drag it out of Photos into Finder to get a normal file. **What you get:** an MP4 with the TikTok watermark and the creator's username moving around the frame. That watermark is how the creator keeps credit if the video is shared, and TikTok always adds it to this kind of download. **If Save video is missing,** the creator has switched downloads off. Creators can do that for their whole account in Settings and privacy → Privacy → Downloads, or for a single post. See "When saving does not work" below. --- ## 2. Your own TikToks and drafts You have better options for your own videos than anyone else does. **Before you post.** In the post screen, look for the option to **save the video to your device** and turn it on. TikTok then keeps a copy in your camera roll when the post goes live. Doing this every time is the simplest backup there is. **Already posted.** Open the video from your profile, tap the **⋯** or **Share** button and choose **Save video**. AirDrop it to your Mac as in method 1. **Drafts.** Drafts live inside the TikTok app only, and they are lost if you delete the app or switch phones. To keep a copy, open the draft, turn on saving to your device in the post screen, and post it with the audience set to **Only me**. The copy lands in your camera roll and nobody else sees the post. **If you recorded inside TikTok,** check your camera roll before assuming you have the original. TikTok only keeps a copy on your phone if saving was switched on when you posted. --- ## 3. On the Mac, straight from the link When you would rather not involve your phone, start from the TikTok's link. In the app, tap **Share → Copy link** and send it to your Mac. In a browser on your Mac, copy the address from the address bar. TikTok links look like `tiktok.com/@username/video/7123456789`. Then you have three options. **An online TikTok saver site.** Paste the link and download the file. No install, but your request goes through their server, the pages are heavy with ads, and the file is often compressed again. Fine for a one-off. **yt-dlp, if you use Terminal.** The free command-line tool [yt-dlp](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp) handles TikTok links. With [Homebrew](https://brew.sh) installed: ```bash brew install yt-dlp yt-dlp "https://www.tiktok.com/@username/video/7123456789" ``` The file lands in whichever folder your Terminal is in, usually your home folder. If you are comfortable with Terminal, this is hard to beat. **A Mac app such as Klipprr.** We make Klipprr, so weigh this one accordingly. Paste the link, wait for the preview to load (TikTok links take a little longer to load than YouTube or Instagram links), then export an MP4 to the folder you choose. Everything runs on your Mac, with no server in between. In our test on an M3 Pro Mac, a 55-second TikTok exported in 24 seconds on the Pro plan and 25 seconds on the free plan. Klipprr needs a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). The free plan gives you 10 clips a month at up to 720p, with a Klipprr watermark. → [Every way to save a TikTok on a Mac, compared](/tiktok-video-downloader) --- ## 4. Only part of a TikTok TikTok's own Save video always gives you the whole thing. If you only want a few seconds, there are two free-or-cheap routes. **Trim it afterwards in QuickTime (free).** Save the full video with any method above, open it in QuickTime Player, choose **Edit → Trim** (⌘T), drag the yellow handles to the part you want, and click **Trim**. Then **File → Save**. QuickTime's handles are not frame-precise, but for a social clip they are usually close enough. **Trim before you export (Klipprr).** Paste the link, set an **In** point and an **Out** point on the timeline, and export only that range. You can mark several moments from the same video and export them together, which is quicker if you are pulling more than one clip. --- ## 5. Only the audio Want the sound from a TikTok, say a voiceover or a clip of someone talking? Save the video first with any method above, then: 1. Open it in **QuickTime Player**. 2. Choose **File → Export As → Audio Only**. 3. QuickTime saves an `.m4a` audio file. Klipprr does not export audio-only files, so QuickTime is the right tool here. Remember that the music in many TikToks is licensed to TikTok for use inside the app. Saving it for yourself is not the same as having the right to use it elsewhere. --- ## When saving does not work **Save video is not in the Share menu.** The creator has turned downloads off, for their account or for that post. Respect that unless you have their permission or another lawful reason to keep a copy, such as reporting or research. **The link does not load in any tool.** The video is probably private, deleted, or limited to followers. If you can only see it while logged in to TikTok, a link-based tool cannot fetch it. **The video was deleted.** No tool can recover a TikTok once it has been removed. If a video matters to you, save it when you find it. **The file will not open in your editor.** Open it in QuickTime first. If QuickTime plays it, export it again from QuickTime with **File → Export As → 1080p** to get a file every editor accepts. --- ## Saving is not the same as reposting A TikTok belongs to the person who made it. Keeping a copy for yourself, for reference or as a backup, is ordinary. Publishing it again, especially without the watermark or credit, can get your post taken down and can infringe the creator's copyright. If you want to repost, ask the creator and credit them. The watermark exists to make that credit automatic. --- ## Frequently asked questions **How do I download a TikTok on a MacBook without my phone?** Copy the TikTok's link from your browser and use a tool that accepts links: an online saver site, yt-dlp in Terminal, or a Mac app such as Klipprr. Each is compared on our [TikTok downloader for Mac page](/tiktok-video-downloader). **Where do saved TikToks go on a Mac?** Videos sent with AirDrop land in your Downloads folder. With iCloud Photos switched on, videos saved on your iPhone also appear in the Photos app on your Mac. Klipprr saves to the export folder you choose in the app. **Why does my saved TikTok have a watermark?** TikTok adds its logo and the creator's username to every video saved with its own Save video option. It is there so the creator keeps credit, and you cannot switch it off. **Can I save a TikTok if the creator turned off downloads?** Not with TikTok's own button. Link-based tools may still fetch public videos, but the creator has made a clear choice, so only do that if you have their permission or another lawful reason. **Can I save TikToks from a private account?** Only if you are the account owner, using the steps for your own videos. Private videos cannot be fetched from a link by someone who is not allowed to see them. --- ## Summary For most TikToks, tap Share → Save video in the app and AirDrop the file to your Mac. Save your own videos as you post them, and post drafts as "Only me" to keep a copy. For working from a link on the Mac, trimming to one moment, or saving several clips at once, use yt-dlp if Terminal suits you or a Mac app if it does not. For the sound alone, QuickTime's Export As → Audio Only is free and already on your Mac. → [TikTok video downloader for Mac](/tiktok-video-downloader): every method compared → [Download Klipprr](/download): free plan, Apple Silicon Macs