TikTok Filters: How to Find, Use and Remove Them
TikTok filters and TikTok effects are separate tools in the same camera. A filter comes from Filters on the side panel, has a strength slider, and Management decides which filters show. An effect comes from Effects at the bottom of the screen, previews live and saves to Favorites. Each has its own Remove button. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Effects
Below are TikTok’s steps for both, a straight answer on the “best” filters, and TikTok’s dated rules on teen restrictions, warnings and AI labels. For the rest of the camera, see our TikTok how-to guide.
Table of Contents
- What’s the difference between TikTok filters and effects?
- How do you add a filter on TikTok?
- How do you find and save TikTok effects?
- What are the best or most popular TikTok filters?
- How do you remove a filter or effect?
- Can you add filters on a computer?
- Are some TikTok effects restricted for teens?
- Do filters and effects get labels or warnings?
- Posting a filtered video with Outfeed AI
- TikTok filters FAQ
What’s the difference between TikTok filters and effects?
A TikTok filter sits on the side panel and has a strength slider; an effect sits under Effects at the bottom of the camera screen and previews live. TikTok’s Help Center documents them as separate tools:
| Filters | Effects | |
|---|---|---|
| Where to find them | Filters, on the side panel | Effects, at the bottom of the camera screen |
| How you pick | Select one, then set its strength with the slider | Select one to preview it live on your screen |
| When | Before and after recording or uploading | Before or after recording, but some only before and others only after |
| Keeping the ones you like | Management chooses which filters appear | The Favorites button saves an effect |
| Removing | Filters, then Remove | Remove, next to the effect |
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Effects.
How do you add a filter on TikTok?
Tap Filters on the side panel of the camera, select a filter and adjust the slider to set its strength. TikTok says you can add a filter before and after recording or uploading your video. To tidy the list, select Management from the filters panel and choose which filters appear in the app.
In the app:
- In the TikTok app, tap the Add Post + button at the bottom.
- Tap Filters on the side panel.
- Select a filter you'd like to use. You can add a filter before and after recording or uploading your video.
- Adjust the slider above the filters panel to preview different filter strengths.
- Tap anywhere to return to the camera screen and record with the filter.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Effects.
How do you find and save TikTok effects?
Tap Effects at the bottom of the camera screen and select one: it applies to your screen straight away as a preview. Tap the Favorites button at the top of the effects panel to save it. Timing matters more than with filters, because TikTok says some effects are only available before recording and others only after.
In the app: Record with an effect:
- In the TikTok app, tap the Add Post + button at the bottom.
- Tap Effects at the bottom of the camera screen.
- Select an effect to preview. It'll automatically be applied to your screen.
- Tap anywhere to return to the camera screen and record with the effect.
In the app: Add an effect to Favorites:
- After tapping the Add Post + button, tap Effects and select the effect you would like to favorite.
- Tap the Favorites button at the top of the effects panel.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Effects.
Effect templates are a different route: from Add post +, then Create, Try this template drops your photos or videos into a ready-made edit. TikTok says the feature isn’t available to everyone, and Business Accounts can only use templates made with commercially licensed music. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos
What are the best or most popular TikTok filters?
Lists of the best TikTok filters are editorial picks, not TikTok rankings, and TikTok’s Help Center documents no way to search filters or effects by name. Checked against TikTok Help Center: EffectsNot verified What TikTok does give you is a way to keep your own shortlist: Management decides which filters appear in your panel, and Favorites holds the effects you’ve saved.
Looking for a specific look? Green screen has its own guide, and so does AI Alive, which turns a photo into a video with a text prompt for your Story. Checked against TikTok Help Center: AI Alive Our TikTok video ideas pair each idea with how to shoot it.
How do you remove a filter or effect?
Each has its own Remove button, and the retouch filter has its own button too. TikTok’s Help Center lists four cases:
In the app: Remove an effect from a video:
- Tap the Remove button next to the effect at the bottom.
In the app: Remove an effect from a photo:
- Tap the Effects button on the side panel.
- Tap the effect you selected, then tap the Remove button on the side panel.
- Click Save at the top.
In the app: Remove a filter:
- Tap the Filters button on the side panel.
- Tap the Remove button on the left.
In the app: Remove the retouch filter:
- Before you record a video or take a photo, tap the Retouch button on the side panel.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Effects.
Can you add filters on a computer?
Not in any way TikTok documents. Its computer steps cover uploading a video file. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Making a post The settings it lists after a web upload, from caption and cover to who can Duet or Stitch, comments and a copyright check on sounds, include no filters or effects, and TikTok notes that tools vary between the app and the web, and by region. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Tools for creators (TikTok Studio)
TikTok’s advanced editing tools, video effects included, open from the Edit button on the side panel in the app after you record, take a photo or upload. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos So add the look in the app, or in your own editor before you upload from a computer. Our TikTok video size guide has the file specs.
Are some TikTok effects restricted for teens?
Yes. On 26 November 2024 TikTok said it was rolling out globally, over the following weeks, a restriction on some appearance effects for teens under 18, plus more information on how an effect may change someone’s appearance. Checked against TikTok Newsroom: Updates from our European Safety Forum (26 November 2024) TikTok drew the line between effects designed to be obvious and funny, such as animal ears, and effects designed to alter your appearance. It didn’t list which effects are restricted.
Do filters and effects get labels or warnings?
Effects can, in two documented cases: a photosensitivity warning and an automatic AI-generated label.
- Photosensitivity warning. TikTok adds one to videos that contain TikTok effects that may cause visual sensitivity, and viewers can opt out of watching them. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Accessibility for your videos
- AI-generated label. TikTok automatically labels content made with TikTok effects that use AI, so you may not need to add the label yourself unless you also altered the video with AI elsewhere. Checked against TikTok Help Center: About AI-generated content
- No removing it. Once TikTok applies an auto label, you can’t remove it from your post. TikTok may also apply one to content uploaded with C2PA Content Credentials. Checked against TikTok Help Center: About AI-generated content
Posting a filtered video with Outfeed AI
TikTok filters FAQ
How do you get filters on TikTok?
Tap Add post +, then Filters on the side panel of the camera, and select a filter. Adjust the slider above the filters panel to set its strength, then tap anywhere to go back and record. TikTok says you can add a filter before and after recording or uploading your video.
What is the difference between a filter and an effect on TikTok?
TikTok’s Help Center treats them as separate tools. Filters sit on the side panel of the camera, have a strength slider, and Management sets which ones appear. Effects open from Effects at the bottom of the camera screen, preview live and save to Favorites, and some work only before recording or only after.
Can you add a filter after recording a TikTok?
Yes. TikTok’s Help Center says you can add a filter before and after recording or uploading your video, from Filters on the side panel. Effects are less predictable: TikTok says some are only available before recording and others only after.
How do you remove a filter on TikTok?
Tap the Filters button on the side panel, then the Remove button on the left. The retouch filter has its own button: before you record a video or take a photo, tap Retouch on the side panel. To take an effect off a video instead, tap the Remove button next to it at the bottom of the screen.
Why can’t I find a filter on TikTok?
Check Management in the filters panel, where TikTok lets you choose which filters appear in the app. TikTok’s Help Center documents no way to search filters or effects by name. And if the look you want is an appearance effect, TikTok said on 26 November 2024 that it was rolling out a restriction on some appearance effects for teens under 18.