How to preview ads on your mobile device using a QR code

Last updated: October 2025

Previewing your ad allows you to envision what your ad will look like once it's been published. You can generate a QR code from within TikTok Ads Manager and then scan it on the TikTok app to preview your ad.

Before you begin

Your ad must be approved before you can preview it.

How to generate a QR code to preview your ad for manual campaigns

To use the QR code preview, you'll need to generate a QR code from within TikTok Ads Manager. For manual campaigns:

  1. Click the Campaigns page.

  2. Click your Ad list tab.

  3. Find and hover over the ad that you want to preview to show icons.

  4. Click the dropdown arrow next to the icons and click Preview.

  5. Click TikTok as the placement where you want to create a preview.

  6. Click QR Code as the preview method.

This will generate a QR code you can scan using the TikTok app.


Note: The QR code remains valid for 7 days.

How to generate a QR code to preview your ad for Smart+ campaigns

To use the QR code preview, you'll need to generate a QR code from within TikTok Ads Manager. For Smart+ campaigns:

  1. Click the Campaigns page from the top of TikTok Ads Manager.

  2. Click the Campaign or Ad group list tab on the left.

  3. Find and hover over your Smart+ campaign or ad group to show icons.

  4. Click the View data icon to see the data page.

  5. Under the Creatives section of the data page, find and hover over your campaign or ad group to show icons.

  6. Click the Preview icon that appears.

  7. Click TikTok as the placement where you want to create a preview.

  8. Select QR code as the preview method.

This will generate a QR code you can scan using the TikTok app.


Note: The QR code remains valid for 7 days.

How to scan a QR code from the TikTok app

To scan a QR code from the TikTok app:

  1. Open the TikTok app.

  2. Click the QR Code scanner icon on the top right corner of the page.

  3. Scan the QR code you generated on TikTok Ads Manager.

  4. After scanning the QR code, tap Preview Ad.

  5. Swipe through the For You feed until you see your ad.

  6. Once you reach your ad, you will see an ad preview disclaimer popup. Tap Continue to preview your ad.


Ad preview differences

  • There might be slight differences in appearance when it comes to different devices than the one being used for the preview.

  • For Smart+ campaigns where different creative and text combinations are generated for the asset, you may preview a specific creative but the ad preview will select a sample combination of creative and text out of the possible combinations. There is no way to specify a specific creative and text combination to preview.


Previews last for 24 hours. Learn more about how to preview ads on TikTok Ads Manager or how to bulk generate ad preview URLs and QR codes in TikTok Ads Manager.