To post to TikTok through the Content Posting API you register an app, request the posting scope, and then choose between two routes: Direct Post, which publishes from the app, and inbox upload, which sends the video to the creator's inbox to finish in TikTok. The rule that catches most people is that an app that has not been audited can post only as private content. This page sets out the two routes, the audit and what it means for a scheduler.
Direct Post or inbox
| Direct Post | Inbox upload | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | The video is published from the app | The video lands in the creator's inbox as a draft |
| Who finishes it | Nobody, it is posted | The creator, in the TikTok app |
| Privacy choice | Set by the creator through the app | Chosen in the TikTok app |
| Needs an audit for public posts | Yes | Not relevant, the creator publishes |
Before a Direct Post an app has to ask TikTok for the creator's info (which privacy levels, comment and duet settings and maximum length that account may use) and show those choices to the user.
The audit
TikTok's documentation says that content posted by an unaudited client is restricted to private viewing. To post publicly an app has to go through TikTok's audit of the integration, which checks that the app follows the guidelines for how it shows the posting options and how it describes itself. Until then a scheduler can test the whole flow, but the posts it publishes are visible only to the creator.
How the video is sent
The video is either pulled from a URL that you have verified with TikTok, or uploaded in chunks from your server. Both routes return a publish ID that you poll until TikTok reports the post as published or failed. Preflight pulls from a URL when it can, and the details of the failures are in TikTok API errors.
What TikTok's API does not do
- It does not take a publish time, so a scheduler holds the post and sends it at the minute. TikTok's own scheduler is separate (scheduling TikTok posts).
- It does not accept links in the caption in the way other networks do; see links in posts by network.
- It asks for the creator's choices before every Direct Post, so a tool cannot publish with settings the account does not allow.
In Preflight
Connect the TikTok account with its sign-in, pick the privacy level the account allows and choose Direct Post or inbox per post. The limits are checked in the composer, and the rules are on the TikTok limits page, scheduling to TikTok and the TikTok integration. The same post can be sent from the API.
Based on TikTok's Content Posting API documentation as read on 31 October 2026 (Direct Post and inbox upload; unaudited clients are private only).
Questions people ask
- Why are my TikTok API posts private?
- TikTok restricts content posted by unaudited clients to private viewing. Public posting needs the app to pass TikTok's audit.
- What is the difference between Direct Post and inbox upload on TikTok?
- Direct Post publishes from the app. Inbox upload sends the video to the creator's inbox, and the creator finishes and publishes it in the TikTok app.
- Can the TikTok API schedule a post?
- No. The API publishes at once, so a scheduler keeps the post and sends it at the chosen time.
- Do I have to ask TikTok for creator info before posting?
- Yes for Direct Post. The app has to query the creator's allowed privacy levels and settings and offer them to the user.