How to find lost TikTok videos you forgot to save

New update gives you another way to find lost TikTok videos.
By Christianna Silva  on 
How to find TikTok videos you watched but didn’t save
How to find TikTok videos you watched but didn’t save Credit: TikTok

A new update on TikTok gives users another way to find TikTok videos they watched — but didn’t save.

Oftentimes, I’ll be scrolling through my TikTok "For You" Page and see a video I do not want to favorite, bookmark, save, nor send to a friend. But after a while, the video's lingering impact continues to tickle my brain incessantly. “Watch me again,” it whispers. “Find me and send me in your group chat,” my ear canals echo. Unfortunately, what was once just inches from my corneas is now lost in the social media app's abyss.

Plus, it’s difficult to find a specific video on any given topic on search. For example, a search query for “cat” begets innumerable results, wilting my hope in rediscovering that one cat video I saw an hour ago.

Until now.

In what is maybe my favorite update from TikTok, there's a new way to find videos you’ve already watched — a feature that I first discovered from social media consultant Rachel Karten on Twitter. Here’s how:

Total Time
  • One minute
What You Need
  • A phone and a TikTok account

Step 1: Navigate to the search bar

It’s the little magnifying glass in the top right corner of the app.

Navigate to the search bar
Credit: TikTok

Step 2: Type in a keyword

This can be anything you remember from the video. Maybe “cat” or “recipe.”

Type in a keyword
Credit: TikTok

Step 3: Get more options 

Tap the three dots on the top right and select “filters.”

Get more options 
Credit: TikTok

Step 4: Narrow down your search

Now, select “watched” under the “video category” option on filters.

Narrow down your search
Credit: TikTok

You can also access your watch history by going to your profile and tapping on the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) on the top right. Next, navigate to Settings and Privacy > Activity Center > Watch History.

Voila! You’ve found the TikTok video you watched, but didn't save — a video you once thought was lost to the ether.

Topics TikTok

Mashable Image
Christianna Silva
Senior Culture Reporter

Christianna Silva is a Senior Culture Reporter at Mashable. They write about tech and digital culture, with a focus on Facebook and Instagram. Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow them on Twitter @christianna_j.


Recommended For You
On TikTok, a blog celebrating girlhood is going viral

TikTok makes it easier for effects creators to cash in on their viral effects

TikTok clarifies its moderating policies amid Israel-Hamas war

TikTok may integrate Google search results in-app

You wrote a book! Now make a viral TikTok about it.

More in Tech
New Google Maps features tackle obstacles to accessibility


Nation's first guaranteed income program for Indigenous parents launches in Washington

Treat yourself to a Coleman tent and more Prime Day outdoor deals

Period care brands are reimbursing your tampon taxes. Here's how to cash in.

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for October 18

7 skills to teach your daughter by age 13


Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for October 18

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!