Many have already likened TikTok’s upcoming photo-and text-based social media app to Instagram.
When sharing images on the TikTok app, several users noticed a pop-up notification telling them that their photos may be shared on TikTok Notes, a new platform that is supposed to launch “coming soon.” There was also a way to choose not to participate in the cross-platform sharing.
According to an online news source called Modern Retail, TikTok has started encouraging users to upload pictures instead of the short or long-form movies that the company is famous for.
The same-named website is now operational on the internet and has a broken “open app” button. The website has posts that resemble Instagram photos, including still images and captions that have a polaroid-like appearance.
Representatives from TikTok informed the BBC that the firm is “working on a dedicated space for photos and text,” but they did not provide a release date or say whether the app has been completed.
A representative for TikTok told Nexstar’s KTLA, “As part of our continued commitment to innovating the TikTok experience, we’re exploring ways to empower our community to create and share their creativity with photos and text in a dedicated space for those formats.”
The software is still in its early phases, according to the spokesman, and won’t be tested in the United States, where some lawmakers are trying to outlaw TikTok due to privacy concerns.
The social media network aims to enable text-based posts like Threads and X, the original name of Twitter. According to TechCrunch, TikTok has also experimented with allowing 30-minute videos, similar to those on YouTube.
Social media businesses have previously made their own versions of functionality available on other platforms available. Both Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by Meta, debuted their own versions of stories in 2017 following Snapchat’s success with posts that had a short lifespan.
Recently, Instagram introduced Threads, a text-based posting platform, to compete with Elon Musk’s X, the former name of Twitter.