Not every social media post is ready for prime time. Sometimes you write a post or film a video and decide that it’s better to not publish it. That’s fine. That’s what the Drafts folder is for. That folder is built to hold your works-in-progress, mistakes, and other too-goofy-for-public-consumption posts and videos. The Drafts folder is probably one that you take for granted, but what if that folder (via a particularly viral-prone social media platform) were to have its content leaked and published for the world to see? Scary, isn’t it?
That’s the fear that’s behind a certain, now years-long TikTok rumor going around. But is it true? Is TikTok leaking its users’ drafts? In this guide, we’re taking a closer look at this rumor and fact-checking it.
The rumor
As far as we can tell, the whole “TikTok leaks drafts” rumor dates back to at least the summer of 2020. It’s not a rumor that really made mainstream news headlines, but it did get some coverage with lesser-known websites, and it does have a tendency to resurface repeatedly. The last time it resurfaced was in August 2022. Here’s what we know about it:
- According to Distractify, the rumor started with a TikTok user’s dance moves video that was published without an account name. The video only displayed the @ symbol as its username. The concerning part of the story is that usually when you select an account’s username on a TikTok video, you’ll be taken to that account’s profile. In this case, TikTok users who selected the @-symbol username were directed to their own profile.
- Nerds Chalk reported that TikTok users were able to find the creator of the video in question and she was contacted. The creator of the video reportedly “had no idea about the leak and didn’t get any notifications from the app.”
- In the years since (particularly in August 2022), other TikTok users have reportedly posted tweets saying that the leaked drafts were still occurring. And people have been posting TikTok videos about the rumor, but as far as we can tell, they’re mostly videos about how scary it would be if TikTok were leaking videos — and not necessarily that TikTok was doing so.
Is it true?
The overall consensus as of now is that this rumor isn’t true. There doesn’t appear to be is any actual proof that TikTok is leaking its users’ drafts.
Additionally, Digital Trends contacted TikTok to comment on the matter. TikTok’s response supported the consensus that the rumor isn’t true:
“As mentioned, videos in drafts are saved locally on users’ devices and not on TikTok servers, so it isn’t possible for them to be published without action from the user.”
So, there you have it: The rumor isn’t true. There doesn’t appear to be evidence to support the rumor and TikTok itself says that it isn’t possible for TikTok to leak drafts.
What to do if you’re still worried
Even though the rumor doesn’t appear to be true, you might still be worried that your drafts could get published or otherwise accessed without your knowledge. If this is something you’re still concerned about, there is an action you can take to ease your fears: You can delete your TikTok drafts. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open up the TikTok mobile app and select Profile.
Step 2: Select Drafts.
Step 3: On the Drafts screen, choose Select and then select the drafts you want to delete.
Step 4: Then choose the Delete button that appears at the bottom of your screen. Then select Delete again to confirm.
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