How to make a texting-story video for TikTok
A walk through the whole job for a TikTok-bound chat story: choosing the look, setting the vertical shape, writing beats, exporting an MP4 and checking it on a phone.
Try it: start from this sample
Choose the look and the shape before the words
Open the editor, pick the TikTok DM look (it needs the Standard plan) and set the export shape to 9:16. TikTok is a vertical app and 1080 x 1920 is the usual export size, so settling the shape first means you never rewrap bubbles afterwards. ChatsRat draws its own interface in a similar general style and uses the name only to describe the kind of layout.
Write four beats, then add more only if they earn it
The sample above is a complete story in four bubbles: a complaint, a challenge, an escalation and a joke that lands. Copy that skeleton. Message one carries the hook, message four carries the payoff, and nothing in between explains. Once those four work, add a bubble only when it makes the payoff funnier or the tension tighter. Cut greetings, cut thank-yous, and cut anything a viewer can guess.
Set the pace and export
Animation speed decides how fast bubbles arrive: slow is about two seconds between messages, normal about one and fast about half a second. Choose normal for most stories and slow only for a line that needs a beat of silence. Video export is a Creator plan feature, so draft on a lower plan if you like, then export an MP4 when the script is final. Play it once on your own phone before you upload.
Check the file and post it honestly
The numbers in this guide are typical as of November 2026; platforms change them, so check the platform's own help page before you publish. Short story videos on TikTok tend to run 15 to 60 seconds. Say in your caption that the story is fictional, and follow TikTok's own rules for what you post.
Tips
- Write the final bubble first, then build backwards to a hook.
- Keep names plain and invented so nobody mistakes the chat for a real one.
- Watch the finished export with the sound off to check it still works.
- Save the script before exporting so you can make a part two quickly.
- Trim the first second: if bubble one is a greeting, delete it.
Questions
Which plan do I need to export a TikTok video?
Video export, including MP4 and the 9:16 shape, is on the Creator plan. The TikTok DM look itself needs Standard. The Free plan exports a PNG with a visible ChatsRat watermark, which is fine for testing a script.
Does the preset open the right shape?
Yes. Opening the editor from this page sets the export dialog to 9:16 when your plan allows it. You can still switch to 16:9, 1:1 or 4:5 on the Creator plan.
Can I post straight from ChatsRat?
No. ChatsRat makes the file and you upload it yourself. It is not connected to TikTok, and you follow that platform's own rules when you post.
How many messages is a good number?
Start with four, as in the sample, and grow the story only where a bubble adds tension or a laugh. The Free plan allows four messages per chat, and paid plans allow more; the pricing page lists the limits.
Use it for simulated, labelled content. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.