How to save TikToks and Reels
How to save TikToks to Favorites and collections, save Reels on Instagram, keep the link or the video, and actually find that one hook again in three months.
TLDR
- TikTok: tap the bookmark icon to add a video to Favorites, and sort into collections from there. Find them on your profile, under the bookmark tab.
- Instagram Reels: tap the bookmark under the Reel. They live in your profile menu, under Saved, with collections.
- Both apps bury saves and neither lets you search them. Copy the link (Share, then Copy link) into a swipe file with a note on why you saved it.
Save a TikTok
- On the video, tap the bookmark icon on the right. It goes into Favorites.
- To sort it, tap Manage in the pop-up (or long-press the bookmark) and add it to a collection, or make a new one.
- Find your saves on your profile: tap the bookmark tab.
If you want the file, Share → Save video works only when the creator allows downloads. When they don’t, keep the link.
Save an Instagram Reel
- Tap the bookmark under the Reel. Tap and hold to pick a collection.
- Find them on your profile: the menu (three lines), then Saved.
The Instagram saved posts post goes deeper on collections and the bits Instagram hides.
Why in-app saves don’t work for work
If you save short videos because you make them (or make ads with them), you’ll hit these fast:
- No search. You can’t find “the one with the hook about cold showers”.
- They disappear. Creators delete videos. Brands pull ads. Accounts get banned.
- No notes. You saved it for the transition at 0:04. In three months you won’t know that.
- Two apps, two piles. Your TikTok saves and your Reels saves never meet.
Keep them in a swipe file
Copy the link from Share → Copy link and paste it into your swipe file. In Savepad, a video link keeps its thumbnail, caption, and creator, and you can add a note like “hook at 0:02, product shown by 0:05”. Tag it #hook or #ugc, and filter later. On your phone, email the link to your Savepad address, and add +tiktok before the @ to send it straight to a folder. The save from your phone docs have the trick.
If you’re saving them for ad ideas, the TikTok Creative Center shows top-performing ads by industry, and TikTok ad examples has a few broken down.
FAQ
How do I save a TikTok to a collection?
Tap the bookmark icon on the video to add it to Favorites, then tap Manage, or long-press the bookmark, to pick or create a collection. Find them on your profile under the bookmark tab.
Where do saved Reels go on Instagram?
Tap the bookmark under the Reel. They go to your profile menu, under Saved, where you can sort them into collections.
Can I download a TikTok?
Only if the creator allows it, from Share, then Save video. Respect it when they don't: keep the link instead.