WebPreserver now supports collections of TikTok! Starting today, all WebPreserver users have access to similar features and capabilities that we offer for evidence collection on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This is a standard function available to all customers, who will now be able to:

• Capture entire TikTok timelines with a few clicks
• Reliably capture TikTok videos and video descriptions
• Automatically open and capture TikTok comments and replies
• Perform bulk captures of TikTok videos

TikTok: The New Social Media Giant

“We’re incredibly excited to announce that WebPreserver users can now collect evidence from TikTok in the same way they collect evidence on platforms like Facebook and Instagram,” says Pagefreezer CEO Michael Riedijk. “Over the last few months, TikTok support has been our most requested feature. It’s clear that our legal and investigative customers are increasingly turning to TikTok when capturing third-party evidence.”

The reason for this interest from the legal and investigative community is simple: TikTok is arguably the biggest social media platform in the world right now. It might not have the biggest user base—TikTok has around 1 billion monthly active users, while Instagram has roughly 2 billion and Facebook has 2.9 billion monthly active users—but TikTok commands an incredible amount of attention. 

According to recent research, TikTok’s engagement is far above that of Facebook or Instagram. The average TikTok user spends 25.7 hours a month on the platform—which is more than the average Facebook user (16 hours) and Instagram user (7.9 hours) combined. 

This means there’s a lot of content being generated. Moreover, this content (primarily videos but also useful photos, sound clips, comments, etc.) is discoverable and viewable by anyone. In short, TikTok can be very valuable within an OSINT context—provided evidence can be collected in a way that is reliable and defensible.

Legally-Admissible TikTok Evidence

Given the prominence of videos in TikTok content, collecting evidence can be a challenge. And even if some kind of screen recorder can be used to collect a video, the authenticity of evidence can be hard to prove. 

“It’s impossible to ignore TikTok as an evidence source, but investigators must be able to collect content in a defensible format that will stand up in court. WebPreserver can do that and more,” says Riedijk. “It captures TikTok content with a few simple clicks, collects associated metadata, and provides all of this information in a collection report. It can also automate the process entirely, allowing for the bulk capture of TikTok posts and all comments. For legal and investigative teams it really is a game-changer.”

TikTok Recordkeeping Compliance

WebPreserver’s TikTok support also has the potential to streamline compliance recordkeeping workflows. Many brands—especially those interested in a younger demographic—have created official TikTok accounts. However, since enterprise information archiving solutions do not support TikTok at present, legal and compliance teams struggle to keep accurate records of their content that isn’t dependent on the original platform.

“Most organizations have internal, or external, recordkeeping requirements—they need to keep records of their official social media content. The problem is how to collect and preserve authenticated copies of their TikTok videos and other content in a format that can be easily handed over to a compliance team,” says Peter Callaghan, Chief Revenue Officer of Pagefreezer. “WebPreserver solves this challenge by making it quick and easy to capture and share TikTok content in a reliable manner.”

Existing WebPreserver customers will now see TikTok supported through the browser plugin — simply navigate to TikTok and click on the WebPreserver favicon to view the relevant capture options. (Ensure that your browser extension is up to date.) 

Those that need to capture and preserve TikTok records who are not current WebPreserver users, click below to learn more and download a sample TikTok collection report.