Are you planning to take a screenshot, or screen record somebody’s video on TikTok?
Or, perhaps you’re worried about somebody doing this to one of your videos.
In either case, you may be wondering – does TikTok notify when you screen record? What about when you simply take a screenshot?
In this article, we’ll cover everything that you need to know!
Does TikTok Notify When You Screenshot?
Let’s say your browsing TikTok, and take a screenshot of something that happens within a TikTok video.
Will the creator of the video get a notification that you’ve screenshotted their content?
Currently, the answer is no. Whether you take one screenshot or multiple, they will not receive any sort of notification letting them know that you’ve done so.
If you’re curious, you can try this out by yourself by logging into an alt account, then screenshotting one of your own videos.
In any case, a notification will not be sent. This is true not only on the mobile version of the TikTok app, but also on tablets, computers, and any other device that supports screenshots.
Therefore, you can screenshot all you want without anyone ever finding out – unless you tell them of course!
Does TikTok Notify When You Screen Record?
Now that we’ve covered screenshots, let’s talk about screen recording. Does TikTok send a notification when you record your screen in order to save their video?
The answer here is no as well.
Although TikTok may be able to detect when you’re screen recording, they have chosen not to notify the user when this is done.
Therefore, this is one way to save videos in which the original poster has disabled downloads.
Remember that both screen recording and screenshotting are system functions, built into your phone’s operating itself. TikTok could not prevent screen recording, even if it wanted to.
After all, even if they had an automated system to close the app when screen recording was detected – or they did decide to start notifying creators, someone could always record using another phone or camera.
So, you should keep this in mind if you’re a creator yourself! We’ll talk more about preventing screen recording a little later on.
What About For Private Messages?
Although TikTok doesn’t notify for screenshots or screen recordings made for videos, you may be wondering – does the same apply for private messages?
After all, it’s accepted that videos are going to be seen by a lot of other people. Private messages on the order hand have a higher degree of privacy that’s implied.
So, if you were to screenshot a private conversation TikTok, what would happen?
At this time, nothing. Just like with videos, TikTok does not send any sort of notification if you screenshot or screen record a private message.
However, you should be respectful and avoid sharing any private conversations with anybody else, if they were only intended to be seen by you.
That being said, unless you (or someone else) tells them, they will have no way of knowing.
Can You Prevent People From Screenshotting Or Screen Recording Your TikTok Videos?
If you are a TikTok creator, it’s understandable that you wouldn’t want people saving your video.
In fact, TikTok even has a function built into it that prevents people from downloading the video directly – at least within TikTok’s app itself.
That being said, they say when you upload something onto the internet, it’s there forever. That’s because there is no way to truly erase content that other people have saved or stored – it can always come back to haunt you later.
Therefore, you may be curious to find out whether it’s possible to prevent people from screen recording your videos, even if you won’t be notified of it.
Unfortunately, this is currently impossible.
Because both screenshotting and screen recordings are system functions built directly into your phone’s operating system, there is no way for an app like TikTok to prevent them from occuring.
While some apps will automatically close or darken the screen when they detect screenshotting or screen recording, TikTok is not one of them.
Therefore, people can screen record and screenshot on TikTok freely, without anything hindering them from doing so.
Additionally, websites exist that let people download TikToks directly to their phone, tablet or computer, even if downloads are disabled in your video’s privacy settings.
Finally, even if there WERE a way to prevent this, somebody could always record their screen with an external camera, or another phone.
Therefore, there will never be a way to prevent recording entirely. No matter what TikTok does, anybody who is determined to save your video will always be able to do it.
Because of that, you should be mindful of what you post, and only post things you’re okay with sticking around forever.
That being said, if you only want your videos to be shown to approved followers, you can always make your TikTok account private.
Having a private account will require you to approve all new followers, and only your followers will be able to see what you’ve posted when your account is private.
Because people can not save what they can’t access in the first place, this may be a good idea if you’re worried about the wrong person seeing or saving your TikTok videos.
For more information, see: How To Save TikTok Videos That Can’t Be Saved
Can You Find Out Who Has Saved Your Video?
We now know that there is no way to find out who may have screenshotted or screen recorded your video, unless they choose to tell you.
But does TikTok provide any way to figure out who has saved your video using the built-in downloading function?
Unfortunately, the answer is no – TikTok does not allow you to see a list of people who have saved your video.
For more information, see: Does TikTok Tell You Who Saves Your Video? (2022 Update)
Conclusion
Currently, TikTok does not notify the creator if you screenshot or screen record one of their videos.
So, this is one way to save a video to your phone, even if the creator has disabled downloads. Unless you tell them, the creator will have no way of knowing that you’ve screenshotted or recorded your screen.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any other questions about TikTok, feel free to ask them using the comment form at the bottom of this page.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister