How the watermark works, and when it can be removed
TikTok serves two kinds of video stream: one with the bouncing username and TikTok logo burned into the corner, and the original file the creator uploaded. We request the second one first, which is why most public videos come back clean. But if the creator shot inside the TikTok camera and applied platform effects, or re-uploaded a clip that already carried someone else's watermark, that mark is baked into the pixels — no tool on earth can reverse it. Worth checking the preview before you assume the downloader failed.