TikTok favourites missing? Here's where they went

A favourite is a bookmark to someone else's video, so when the video goes, your favourite goes with it. Here's where to look first, what can come back, and how to make sure you can always find the ones you keep.

First, check you're looking in the right place

Favourites, not Liked. The heart and the bookmark are separate. A heart puts a video in your Liked tab; the bookmark puts it in Favourites. Check both tabs on your profile.
The right account. Every account keeps its own favourites. If you switch between accounts, check the other one.
On the web. Sign in at tiktok.com, open your profile and choose Favourites. If a video shows there but not in the app, update the app, or log out and back in.

Why favourites disappear

If it isn't in Favourites on the web either, the video changed, not your favourite. TikTok doesn't tell you when that happens.

The creator deleted it. It's gone for good.
The creator made it private. It comes back only if they make it public again.
The account went private. It comes back if they accept your follow or go public again.
The account was banned or deleted. It's gone for good.
TikTok removed it for breaking its rules. It comes back only if the removal is reversed.

How to find a favourite again

TikTok's search covers all of TikTok, not your favourites, so finding one saved video among hundreds takes a little detective work.

Remember the creator? Open their profile and scroll their videos.
Remember the sound? Search for it and open the sound's page, which lists the videos that use it.
Sorted into collections? Open Favourites, then Collections, and look in the one it would belong to.
Otherwise, scroll Favourites. The newest are at the top.

TikTok's data download won't help here. Your favourites come through as a list of links and dates, with no captions or thumbnails, so you can't tell which link is the one you want. What the download contains →

Keep every favourite, and find any of them

Findy brings your whole Favourites across in one run, in the browser where you're already signed in to TikTok. Each video becomes a card with its thumbnail, caption and creator, and Findy keeps a copy, so the card still works after the video comes down.

Then you can find one by describing it, "the dumpling recipe", "that dog in the cone", because Findy reads every caption and every thumbnail. Run the import again whenever you like: it brings in your new favourites and skips the ones you already have.

Bring your TikTok favourites into Findy →

Quick answers

Why did my TikTok favourites disappear?

Usually because the creator deleted the video, made it private, or lost their account. Your favourite only ever pointed at their video.

Can I search my TikTok favourites?

Not in TikTok. Its search covers the whole of TikTok, not what you've saved.

Are likes and favourites the same?

No. The heart adds a video to Liked; the bookmark adds it to Favourites. They're separate lists.

Next: Export your TikTok favourites · Search by meaning · All manual pages