What Does “Video is Being Processed” Mean on TikTok?

Written by Ivana Kotorchevikj Social Media / TikTok

Linkedin - 5 min read
Key Points

If you get the “Video is being processed” error message on TikTok, it may be due to several reasons:

  • An issue with the TikTok servers.
  • Slow internet connection.
  • The video violates the platform’s community guidelines.
  • The video is too long or large. 
  • The video format causes the issue.
  • There might be a bug with the TikTok app.

Did you try uploading your latest TikTok, and the error message “Video is being processed” popped up on the screen? You are not alone. Many users have reported that TikTok has been stuck on the “Video is being processed” error message for hours.

Users complained that the error appears immediately after it goes under review. Seeing the message can be very frustrating, especially if you are trying to upload an important video on TikTok.

In this post, we’ve gathered all the info to help you understand why you might be seeing the “Video is being processed” error message on TikTok and how to fix the issue.

Why are you seeing “Video is being processed” on TikTok?

When you see the “Video is being processed” message, it means that your video isn’t published on TikTok yet, it doesn’t appear on users’ “For You” page, and it gets 0 views.

It’s not unusual for TikTok to experience bugs from time to time, just like all social media apps. However, this bug affected a large portion of users in the past several months.

Additionally, many people reported that their videos were stuck in the TikTok “Video is being processed” error screen, although their content didn’t contain anything contentious or controversial that would violate TikTok’s community guidelines.

However, users also complained they tried posting several videos on TikTok in a row, and all of them got stuck with the error message without finally being posted. They also wondered if the issue appears in certain regions and what is causing it if their videos comply with TikTok’s community rules.

Note: Some TikTok users also received the “This video is under review and cannot be shared”, which results in not being able to post videos on TikTok.

There are several reasons why TikTok videos get stuck in the processing or review phase:

  • An issue with the TikTok servers.
  • Slow internet connection.
  • The video violates the platform’s community guidelines.
  • The video is too long or large. You might try to crop the video with some third-party tools.
  • The video format causes the issue. TikTok supports these video formats: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, .avi.
  • There might be a bug with the TikTok app.

How to fix the “Video is being processed” error message

Now that we’ve looked at possible reasons for the error message let’s explore what you can do to try to fix it.

  1. Restart the TikTok app and try to upload the video again - This may solve any additional background glitches as well as fix the “Video is being processed” issue.
  2. Update the TikTok app - Updating the app will remove any bugs in the app that cause the error message and prevent you from posting the video.
  3. Clear the TikTok app cache - The cached data may contain some corrupted data that is causing the app not to work properly.
  4. Check if the TikTok servers are down - You can easily do this on Downdetector. If you see a huge spike on the graph, the TikTok server could be the problem.
  5. Check your internet connection speed - Open your browser, find any speed test, and check if the upload speed is good. If it’s not, restart your internet router, turn airplane mode on and off, and switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data.
  6. Double-check that your video doesn’t violate TikTok’s community guidelines.
  7. Check your TikTok account status - If TikTok finds that your video violates their guidelines, your account may be blocked or banned. Go to TikTok notifications to check if there is any announcement about the change to your account. If your account has been blocked, contact TikTok support to resolve the issue.
  8. Report the issue to TikTok - If none of the other fixes removed the “Video is being processed” error message, your last resort is to report the problem to TikTok. Open your TikTok profile > tap on the hamburger menu > ‘Settings & Privacy’ > ‘Report a problem’ > select a topic and follow the steps to report your problem.

If you are still unable to post your TikTok videos, check out our detailed guide on how to fix it.

If you liked this article, you might also be interested in reading how to fix: "Why Won't TikTok Let Me Like Videos?"