How To Fast Forward On TikTok

Writen By Murphy
on January 23, 2023

4 Min Read

TikTok may not be home to full-length movies, but the app still has some pretty long videos. Being able to fast-forward and rewind gives the user the ability to pinpoint their favorite moments, and rewatch them over and over. So, how do you do it?

It is possible to fast-forward through TikTok videos using the progress bar at the bottom of the screen. Find out how with this guide.

How To Fast Forward On TikTok

TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to create and share short videos with their friends. It’s one of the most popular apps in the world, which has led to an expansion of just what it can do. While a TikTok video used to be just 15 seconds long, recent changes to the app now mean you could end up watching videos for up to 10 minutes.

And sometimes, you just don’t need to see all of that.

Fast-forwarding on TikTok is quite simple on videos that have it enabled.

Open your chosen video. At the bottom of the screen should be a thin white line with a white dot.
Tap on the white dot. The white line should become bigger. Move the dot up and down the white bar to move back and forth throughout the video. A time code should appear, telling you where you are in the video.
Stop the dot where you want to start watching again. The video should now play from your chosen point.

Not all videos have the ability to be fast-forward enabled. Keep an eye on the bottom of the screen for the progress bar, which will appear when the option is enabled.

Being able to fast-forward and rewind lets you watch your favorite parts over and over, and catch any details you might have missed before!

How To Download A Video From TikTok To Fast Forward

Back when TikTok first started, a video could be only 15 seconds long. With these blink-and-you-miss-it clips, there wasn’t really much need for a fast-forward function. Since those early days, TikTok has gradually expanded the maximum length of videos to 60 seconds, then 3 minutes, and now 10 minutes.

To match the increased video length, TikTok began rolling out the fast-forward function. However, older versions of the app may still not have access to this feature. Also, it doesn’t show up on every video.

So, what do you do if you want to fast-forward through a video, and TikTok doesn’t give you the option?

The best way to do this is to download the video to your phone. With the content stored on your camera roll, you’re free to jump back and forth across the run time as much as you like.

Open your TikTok app, and find the video that you want to download.
In the lower-right corner of the screen, you’ll find the “share” feature. This looks like a big arrow. Tap on this, and it will bring up some options.
The save feature should appear on the bottom row of icons, labeled “Save Video” and accompanied by a downward arrow icon. This is normally either the second or third icon from the left.
Tap on “Save Video”, and the content will be downloaded to your phone. You can then access it in your camera roll.
Not all creators will have the “Save Video” option enabled. If the icon is grayed out, you won’t be able to download the video.
With the video in your camera roll, you can fast-forward and rewind as much as you want. Use the cursor in the video bar at the bottom of the screen, and drag it across to move through the video.

Although most videos have the rewind and fast-forward button now, this is still a useful trick to remember. By downloading the video to your phone, you have access to it when you don’t have an internet connection. Really helpful if you’re doing some DIY!

How To Speed Up A TikTok Video

If you’re finding out how to fast-forward through a TikTok video, then you probably know that some creators make content that’s just too long. This is particularly true if you’re recording an instructional video. The kneading dough might be an important part of the bread-making process, but no one really wants to watch it happen in real-time.

If you’re guilty of slowing your video content down with recordings that go on for too long, then you might be interested in speeding your TikTok up.

By speeding it up, you can fast-forward through the slow moments without losing what’s happening. That way, your fans can watch you hammer every nail, frost every cupcake, and paint every wall, at a speed that won’t put them to sleep. And you won’t need to make cuts, so no information is lost!

To speed up your TikTok, begin by opening the app and pressing the “+” symbol at the bottom of the screen.
Before tapping the big red record button, take a look at the editing buttons on the right-hand side of the screen. You should see a speedometer icon. Tap on this, and it gives you the option to change the speed of the video.
This will give you the option to adjust the speed to record fast or slow. There are five options: 0.3X, 0.5X, 1X, 2X, and 3X. 0.3X and 0.5X will slow the video down, while 1X, 2X and 3X will speed it up.
Once you’ve chosen your speed, tap record. Once you’ve recorded your video, the app will automatically speed it up.
You can record at several speeds throughout the video. You’ll need to pause the recording, and adjust the speed using the speedometer edit tool.
For really complex speed cuts, you might prefer to edit your video content on a third-party site.

Final Thoughts

Being able to fast-forward is essential on TikTok, where longer videos are becoming common. With this feature, you can always locate the perfect moment in the recording, and watch it over and over. If the video doesn’t give you the option, simply download it to your phone, and use your camera roll features.

You can read more TikTok articles here.