Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Getting Started
- What can I do if I’m having trouble downloading or opening the Effect House desktop software?
- Effect House is currently only supported on Mac OS and Windows. We have two different versions of Effect House depending on if your Mac is using an Apple or an Intel chip, so make sure you’ve downloaded the correct one. Make sure that you also have a strong internet connection before starting the download for Effect House. If you’re still having trouble, please check out our guide on getting support.
- Why can’t I log into Effect House?
- You can try going to tiktok.com, logging out of your account, then going back to the Effect House site and logging back in using your account. Make sure to have also read and agreed to the agreement shown on the screen after logging in with your TikTok credentials. If you’re still having trouble, please check out our guide on getting support.
- How will I know if there’s an update to Effect House?
- When you open Effect House, a notification will appear if there is an update available. We will also post about updates on the Effect House “Latest” page and in our Discord community.
Creating Effects
- How do I add hint text?
- Hint text can be added through the effect submission window in Effect House. Learn more about submitting an effect.
- How do I add retouch/beautification/skin smoothing?
- TikTok supports this functionality natively in our camera (select Enhance Mode in the top right of the camera). This way, creators can choose whether or not to add Enhance Mode to any effect.
- How do I preview a Community Effect that I’m creating?
- You can preview your effect either in Effect House or on TikTok. Use our guides to learn how to preview your effects in Effect House or in Tiktok.
Submitting and Publishing Effects
- How do I publish Community Effects to TikTok?
- Learn how to submit Community Effects to TikTok.
- Are there submission guidelines for Community Effects?
- Yes, please follow best practices and check out our Effect Guidelines.
- Can I submit branded or sponsored Community Effects?
- At this time, we’re not accepting any types of branded or sponsored effects. If you would like to submit a branded or sponsored effect, please reach out to the TikTok sales team.
- Can I submit stickers and filters?
- At this time, we only support effects. You can create a sticker or filter as part of your effect.
- If I add a disclaimer, can I include content that isn’t mine in my Community Effects?
- No, you can’t use someone else’s content in your Community Effects, even if you include a disclaimer. Their content is considered their intellectual property, and it can’t be used without the necessary licensing. Please see the “Intellectual property and other rights” section of the Effect Guidelines for more information.
- Do I own the Community Effects I create in Effect House?
- TikTok claims no ownership rights to any Community Effects submitted through the Beta Program, except to the extent they incorporate the property of TikTok. TikTok has limited rights to use effects you submit, as described in our Terms of Service.
- How long does the review process take after I’ve submitted a Community Effect?
- Our team will do our best to review your Community Effect as soon as we can! Our reviews may take up to 3 business days from the day of submission, but some reviews may take longer. During the beta phases, we may be tweaking and improving the review process to create a better experience for our users. This might lead to longer than usual wait times.
- Will I be notified when my Community Effect is reviewed?
- Yes, you’ll receive a notification on your effect management page once your Community Effect is reviewed. We’ll let you know if your Community Effect doesn’t meet our guidelines and requires revision. If you have an email address on file with us, you’ll also receive an email once your effect is reviewed. Learn how to add an email address to your TikTok account.
- How do I optimize a Community Effect that did not pass the QA test?
- Please review our guidelines for technical optimization as well as the “Technical Requirements” section of our Effect Guidelines to see what’s required for your Community Effect.
note
Even though an effect may pass QA, some effects may not work for lower-end devices (specifically Android devices). These effects will trigger the pop-up, “This effect doesn’t work with this device,” since they incorporate more technically demanding features. Many effects are unable to be used by some Android phones due to their devices not supporting the WebGL used in Effect House. Community Effects work on most newer iOS and Android devices and do not currently work on devices equal to or lower than the following models: Samsung Galaxy J3, LG Leon H324, Huawei Honor 4X, and Cubot J3.
- Why was my Community Effect rejected?
- All Community Effects submitted must follow our Effect Guidelines. If you’d like to find out more about the review process, please check out our support guide.
- Can I edit a Community Effect while it’s being reviewed?
- If you want to make edits to an effect that is currently being reviewed or cancel your submission, click “Withdraw effect” in the “More” dropdown menu to withdraw that effect. Then you can submit a new effect from the Effect House desktop software. Learn how to manage effects after they’ve been submitted.
Managing Effects
- Can I edit a Community Effect after it’s been published?
- You can edit an Active or Deactivated effect created within the last 6 months. You can update the effect’s package, name, icon, or all of the above. Only one update may be submitted per effect. You can also choose to deactivate your initial effect from the Manage page and then submit your new effect. Learn how to manage effects after they’ve been published.
- Why was my Community Effect taken down after it was already published?
- If your effect was taken down after it was published, it likely went against our Effect Guidelines, or one or more of the policies specified in the Effect Guidelines.
- How do I deactivate or delete a Community Effect?
- How you deactivate or delete a Community Effect depends on the status of your effect. Learn how to deactivate or delete an effect.
- How can I see analytics and performance data about my Community Effects?
- Once your effect is active on TikTok, you can track its performance by navigating to the “Manage” page of the Effect House website. Learn more about the effect analytics we provide.
- Can my Community Effects be private?
- At this time, all active Community Effects are public by default. This means that users on TikTok can discover your effect and use it in their videos on TikTok. Note that effects on your profile will adhere to the visibility level that you set for your profile — for example, if your profile is private, your effect will be public and can be used by anyone, but others won’t be able to see the effect on your profile.
- Why am I seeing different numbers in the Effect Creator Rewards dashboard, Effect House Analytics, and TikTok?
- Data from Effect Creator Rewards, Effect House Analytics, and the TikTok app may slightly differ from each other because they are all captured differently:
- Effect Creator Rewards excludes deleted, duplicated, banned, and private videos in certain regions, as well as videos that can't be counted toward Effect Creator Rewards, including multiple videos of the same effect posted by the same user within a day. (For example, if a TikTok creator publishes 5 videos using the same effect on the same day, it only counts as 1.) For a more accurate view of your rewards, please refer to the Effect Creator Rewards dashboard.
- Effect House Analytics excludes private videos in certain regions.
- TikTok Analytics includes all videos.
- Data from Effect Creator Rewards, Effect House Analytics, and the TikTok app may slightly differ from each other because they are all captured differently:
Sharing Effects
- How do I share my Community Effect with others?
- There are several ways you can tell your friends, followers, and the TikTok community about your creation. Learn how to share your Community Effects.
- Why can’t users on certain devices or in certain countries use my Community Effects?
- Some effects may not be available for all devices or in all countries. For example, effects that use certain high-performance features may not be available on lower-end Android devices. Some effects may not be available in all countries due to regional differences; we are mindful of content that may be offensive or culturally inappropriate in certain regions.
- Why does my effect not work for some users?
- Community Effects work on most newer iOS and Android devices and do not currently work on devices equal to or lower than the following models: Samsung Galaxy J3, LG Leon H324, Huawei Honor 4X, and Cubot J3.
- Where will my Community Effect appear once it’s been approved and published?
- There are several places on TikTok where you can see your effect. Learn where you can view your effects on TikTok.
- How can my effects be more discoverable? Is there going to be an organic way for users to find effects other than our followers?
- We love seeing your effects live in the app! While we can’t feature every effect in TikTok’s effect tray, we encourage all designers to promote their effects on the app by posting about what they’ve created. Discoverability is built into TikTok, which means your videos don’t only reach your followers – they have the potential to reach people far and wide. That means posting videos about your effects is a great way to introduce them to people all across TikTok.
- You’re the best advocate for your creative effects! Consider making content creation part of your effect creation routine by posting regularly about new effects you’ve developed, trying out your effect with trending sounds and hashtags, and suggesting video formats that incorporate your effect. By thinking like a creator and keeping an eye on what audiences enjoy, you’re likely to discover both effect and content ideas that resonate. Our community of designers has already seen great results by posting videos about their effects on TikTok, leading not only to larger followings, but also to higher effect adoption.
Participation in Effect House
- Can you share a product roadmap?
- We can’t share a roadmap for Effect House — due to many variables, our timelines are always shifting. However, if there’s a feature you think we need to prioritize sooner, let us know by sharing in the feature requests channel of our Discord server!
- How can I make effects for brands or become branded effect partners? Can I pitch my effects to brands?
- Learn more about branded and community effects.
Windows
- My Effect House window is oversized and I am having trouble resizing it.
- If you have a larger than expected Effect House window size, we recommend you change your screen resolution / dpi to a smaller number.
- Keyboard shortcuts that I used for Effect House on Mac do not work for the Windows version.
- Please refer to Mac and Windows keyboard shortcuts in the table below for guidance.
| Command Name | Windows | Mac | Display Name (Windows) | Display Name (Mac) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Control | Command | Ctrl | ⌘ |
| Alt | Alt | Option | Alt | ⌥ |
| Delete | Backspace | Delete | Del | Del |
| Shift | Shift | Shift | Shift | ⇧ |