You’re scrolling through your For You feed and you land on a video so good you want everyone you know to see it. Liking it is one option, sending it directly to a friend is another, but TikTok also offers a dedicated repost feature, letting you add someone else’s video to your own profile’s repost collection so your followers can discover it too. This guide covers exactly how reposting works, how it differs from sharing or duetting, and how to manage your own reposts once you’ve made them.
What Does Reposting a Video Actually Do?
Reposting a TikTok video adds that video to a dedicated section, generally accessible from your own profile, where your followers can browse content you’ve chosen to repost, separate from your own originally created videos. Importantly, reposting does not create a new copy of the video under your own account the way posting your own content does. Instead, it functions more like a curated bookmark-and-share hybrid: the original video remains attributed entirely to its original creator, complete with their username and original caption, but your act of reposting signals to your followers that you found it worth sharing.
This is a meaningful distinction from platforms where “reposting” might imply re-uploading content as if it were your own. TikTok’s repost feature is specifically designed to preserve original creator attribution while still letting you actively participate in spreading content you enjoy.
How to Repost a Video on TikTok: Step-by-Step
The general process for reposting has stayed fairly consistent, though the exact icon design can shift slightly between app versions.
- Open the TikTok app and find the specific video you want to repost, either while scrolling through your feed or by searching for it directly.
- Look at the row of icons running down the right side of the video screen, this typically includes the profile picture, like (heart), comment, favorite/save (bookmark), and share icons.
- Tap the share icon, usually represented by an arrow pointing outward or forward.
- This should open a panel with several sharing and interaction options, look for an icon or button labeled “Repost,” sometimes represented by two arrows forming a loop or refresh-style icon.
- Tap “Repost.” In some versions, you may be prompted to optionally add your own short comment or reaction alongside the repost before confirming.
- Confirm the action, and the video should now be added to your repost collection, generally accessible from your own profile.
How to Find and View Your Reposted Videos
Once you’ve reposted a video, here’s generally how to locate your repost collection later.
- Navigate to your own profile by tapping the “Profile” icon, usually located in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Look for a row of tabs beneath your bio and stats, this typically includes sections like your own posted videos, liked videos (if public), and, where available, a dedicated “Reposts” tab, often represented by the same looping arrow icon used for the repost action itself.
- Tap this tab to view all the videos you’ve reposted, generally displayed in the order you reposted them.
How to Remove or “Un-Repost” a Video
If you change your mind about a specific repost, removing it is generally just as simple as adding it.
- Navigate to the specific video within your Reposts tab, or find the original video again through search or your feed.
- Tap the same share icon you originally used to repost it.
- Look for the repost option again, it should now indicate that the video is already reposted (sometimes shown with a filled-in or highlighted icon state).
- Tap it again to remove the repost, effectively undoing the action.
- The video should now disappear from your Reposts tab.
Reposting vs. Sharing vs. Duetting: What’s the Difference?
TikTok offers several distinct ways to interact with and spread someone else’s content, and it’s worth understanding how reposting fits alongside these other options.
| Action | What Happens | Visibility to Your Followers |
|---|---|---|
| Repost | Adds the original video to your dedicated Reposts collection, with original attribution intact | Followers can browse your Reposts tab; may also surface in their own feed depending on platform behavior |
| Share (Send to a Friend or External App) | Sends a direct link or copy of the video to a specific person or platform | Only visible to whoever you directly send it to, not broadcast to your general followers |
| Duet | Creates a new, original video posted to your own profile, displayed side-by-side with the original | Fully visible on your own profile as your own new content, similar to a standard post |
| Stitch | Creates a new video that clips and builds upon a portion of the original, posted as your own new content | Fully visible on your own profile as your own new content, similar to a standard post |
The key distinction is that reposting is a passive curation action, you’re not creating anything new, just signaling and sharing something you found worth spreading, while duetting and stitching involve actively creating new content of your own that happens to build on someone else’s original video.
Does Reposting Notify the Original Creator?
In many implementations, yes, the original creator may receive some kind of notification or visibility into the fact that their video has been reposted, similar to how likes and comments generally notify creators. However, exact notification behavior can vary depending on app version and specific settings, so it’s not something to treat as a universally guaranteed or absent behavior across every account and situation.
Why Do People Use the Repost Feature?
Sharing Content They Genuinely Enjoy
The most straightforward reason is simply wanting to share something entertaining, funny, or valuable with your own followers, without needing to create original commentary or a full duet/stitch response.
Supporting Smaller or Emerging Creators
Since attribution remains fully intact with the original creator, reposting can be a genuine way to help boost visibility for creators you want to support, directing your own audience’s attention toward their original content.
Curating a Personal Collection Visible to Followers
Some users treat their Reposts tab almost like a curated recommendation list, giving their followers a sense of what kind of content they personally enjoy and find worth sharing, beyond just their own original posts.
Privacy Considerations When Reposting
Since your Reposts tab is generally visible to anyone who can view your profile (depending on your account’s privacy settings), it’s worth being thoughtful about what you choose to repost, since it becomes a visible reflection of your interests and taste to anyone browsing your profile. If you’d prefer certain reposts remain less publicly associated with your account, using the direct share/send feature to share content privately with specific friends, rather than the public repost feature, may better suit that particular situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I repost a video from a private account?
Generally, if a video is set to private or restricted by its creator’s account settings, you likely won’t be able to repost it, since the original privacy restrictions set by the creator typically apply to actions like reposting, similar to how you generally couldn’t share or duet a private video either.
Does reposting a video count as engagement that helps the creator’s video perform better?
Reposting is generally understood to function as a form of positive engagement and content distribution, though the exact weight it carries within TikTok’s broader recommendation and performance systems isn’t something the platform has published in precise detail. It’s reasonable to assume it contributes positively to a video’s overall reach and engagement metrics, similar to likes, comments, and shares.
Will removing a repost notify the original creator?
There’s no strong, widely documented indication that un-reposting a video triggers a specific notification to the original creator, though notification behaviors can evolve over time as TikTok updates its features.
Can I add my own caption or comment when I repost something?
Depending on your specific app version, some implementations of the repost feature allow you to add a short comment or reaction alongside the repost, while others may simply add the video to your collection without additional commentary. Check the repost flow within your current app version to see what’s available to you.
Is there a limit to how many videos I can repost?
TikTok hasn’t widely publicized a specific numerical cap on reposts for typical users, and most people are unlikely to encounter a practical limit during normal, non-automated use of the feature.