How to Cite a TikTok Video in APA

In APA 7, a TikTok reference looks like this: Real Name [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of the caption [Video]. TikTok. URL. In-text, you cite the author's surname (or the username in brackets if there's no real name) and the year.

That's the whole recipe. The rest of this guide shows you where each piece comes from, what to do when a field is missing, and the small formatting choices that trip students up.

The five pieces you need

Before you touch your reference list, gather these from the video's page:

1. The creator's real name, if it's on their profile. Format it Last, F. M.
2. The @username, exactly as it appears, with the @ sign.
3. The upload date, as Year, Month Day (spell the month out).
4. The caption or on-screen title, up to the first 20 words. If the caption is emoji-only or blank, describe the video in square brackets instead.
5. The full URL to that specific video, not the creator's profile.

If a field genuinely doesn't exist (no real name listed anywhere on the profile, for example), you drop it and move the username into the author slot. You don't invent placeholders.

The reference-list entry

APA 7 treats TikTok posts like other audiovisual social media (the manual groups them with YouTube videos and tweets). The template:

Author, A. A. [@username]. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words of the caption [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/...

Notes on formatting:

• The caption goes in italics, exactly as posted, spelling and capitalization included. Don't clean up the creator's punctuation.
• After the 20-word cutoff, stop. No ellipsis needed.
• [Video] is the description bracket. It's not italicized and it comes right after the italicized caption.
• TikTok is the site name (not italicized) followed by a period.
• The URL isn't hyperlinked in a printed paper, but leave it live in a Google Doc or Word file so your professor can click through.

If there's no real name

Move the username into the author position, without the brackets:

@username. (Year, Month Day). First 20 words [Video]. TikTok. URL

Your in-text citation then uses (@username, 2025).

If the caption is missing

Write a short description in square brackets in place of the italicized caption. Keep it factual and under 20 words.

Chen, L. [@chemwithchen]. (2024, March 4). [Video of a copper sulfate crystal growing in time-lapse] [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@chemwithchen/video/7343...

The bracketed description replaces both the caption and the italics, but you still add [Video] as the format tag.

In-text citations

Two forms, same as any APA source:

• Parenthetical: (Chen, 2024)
• Narrative: Chen (2024) showed that...

If you're citing the username version, keep the @: (@chemwithchen, 2024) or @chemwithchen (2024) demonstrated....

For a direct quote from the video, add a timestamp in place of a page number: (Chen, 2024, 0:42).

Worked example

Say you're citing a TikTok posted by Marques Brownlee on January 15, 2025. His real name is on his profile. The caption reads: "Testing the iPhone 17's battery in 40 degree weather. This is what happened." That's 15 words, so you use the whole thing.

Reference list:

Brownlee, M. [@mkbhd]. (2025, January 15). Testing the iPhone 17's battery in 40 degree weather. This is what happened [Video]. TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@mkbhd/video/7456123456789

In-text: (Brownlee, 2025) or, for a quote at the 22-second mark, (Brownlee, 2025, 0:22).

Common mistakes to avoid

• Don't use the share link. TikTok's vm.tiktok.com short links are fine for texting a friend, but the full canonical URL is what your reader (and your professor's plagiarism checker) needs.
• Don't italicize the username or the site name. Only the caption gets italics.
• Don't skip the [Video] tag. It's required whenever the format isn't a standard article or book.
• Don't use the date you watched the video. APA 7 removed retrieval dates for stable social media posts. The upload date is what counts.
• Don't title-case the caption. Sentence case only, and copy the creator's own capitalization even if it looks wrong.

One last thing: if the video gets deleted between when you cite it and when your paper is graded, that's not your problem. APA doesn't require an archived copy for TikTok. You cited it in good faith on the date you accessed it.

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