How to export your TikTok Favorites list (and keep the links)
Published · 5 min read
To export your TikTok Favorites, open Profile → ☰ → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data, request your data, then download the file when it is ready. It contains the links to the videos you favorited. It gives you links, not the video files themselves.
Below are the steps, what to expect in the file, and how to turn it into a list you can search. Menu names change between TikTok versions, so look for the closest match if a label differs on your phone.
Can you export TikTok Favorites?
Not from the Favorites tab itself: there is no export or share-all button there. The way to get the whole list out is TikTok's data request, which packages your account data into a file you download. Favorites and Liked videos are among the items it can include.
What you get is a list of links with dates. It is useful as a permanent record of what you saved, for example before you delete the app or if a creator removes a video, because the link stays in your file even when the video no longer plays.
How do I request my TikTok data?
- 1In TikTok, open Profile, tap the menu (☰), then Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data.
- 2Choose to request all data, pick JSON as the file format (it is the easiest to read later), and tap Request data.
- 3Wait for the file to be prepared. TikTok says this can take from a few hours to a few days. The request shows as pending on the same screen.
- 4When it is ready, come back to the same Download your data screen, download the file from there. On iPhone, save it to the Files app.
Download it soon after it is ready, since TikTok does not keep the file available forever. If you cannot find the option, update the app: where it sits can differ between versions.
What is in the file, and what is not?
The download is usually a .zip containing a JSON file (often named user_data_tiktok.json) or, if you chose text, a set of .txt files. Look for the sections named Favorite Videos and Like List. Each entry has a date and a link to the video.
- Included: the links of your favorited videos and liked videos, with the date you saved them.
- Not included: the videos themselves, and in the saved entries usually no title or creator name, so the file alone reads like a long list of URLs.
- Also in the file: lots of other account data such as browsing and search history. You do not need to open or share any of it.
How do I turn the file into a list I can search?
Linkeeper, an iPhone app, can read this file directly. It reads it on the phone and does not upload it; only the links go into your library.
- 1In Linkeeper, open Settings → Library → Import from other apps, or tap the import button on the empty Home screen.
- 2Tap Choose file and pick the .zip or .json you saved in Files.
- 3Check the preview. It shows how many new links were found, how many are already in your library or repeated in the file, and has a switch for each group. Favorite videos is on by default; Liked videos is off, and you can turn it on.
- 4Confirm. The links are imported with their original save dates, tagged TikTok, and titles and thumbnails fill in as Linkeeper fetches them. Undo import removes exactly what that import added.
Linkeeper takes Favorites and, if you switch it on, Liked videos. It does not read your watch or search history from the file. Importing needs a connection to fetch titles afterwards, but the links themselves are in your library right away. For finding videos once they are in, see how to find saved videos on TikTok.
What if I only want a few videos?
A full data request is overkill for a handful of videos. Instead, open the video, tap Share and copy the link, or share it to an app that keeps links. How to save TikTok, Instagram and Facebook links to watch later covers saving them one at a time from the share sheet, and how to back up your links covers keeping a copy of the whole library.
If your goal is the video files, the data request will not help. TikTok's own Save video option on each video is the supported route, and creators can switch it off for their videos.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I export my TikTok Favorites?
- Go to Profile → ☰ → Settings and privacy → Account → Download your data, request your data (JSON is easiest to read), wait until it is ready, then download the file. Favorite Videos in the file lists the links you saved.
- Does the TikTok data download include the videos?
- No. For favorites and likes it gives you links and dates, not the video files.
- How long does TikTok take to prepare my data?
- TikTok says it can take from a few hours to a few days. Check the same Download your data screen.
- Will the export still have a video that was deleted?
- The link is kept in the file, but opening it will no longer play the video. Without the video file there is no way to recover it from the list.
- Can Linkeeper import my TikTok Favorites?
- Yes. Choose the .zip or .json from TikTok under Import from other apps. It reads the file on your iPhone, imports Favorites (and Liked if you turn it on), skips links you already have, and lets you undo the import.