TikTok to take on Instagram with photo app

Screenshots of the notification showed a toggle on the notifications allowing TikTok users to opt out of having their photo posts shared to the app.

Social media consultant Matt Navarra said a text or photo app might be a space where the majority of TikTok users who “lurk”, rather than automate your posting, would engage more.

But he said he did not think another photo-sharing app was something social media users were “desperate” for.

“We have plenty of them, so I don’t think there’s that demand out there necessarily,” he said.

It comes at a difficult time for the company, with the US passing legislation that could see TikTok banned unless its Chinese owner sells it within six months of passing its law.

“Launching Notes as a separate app would be a departure in strategy for TikTok, which has previously incorporated new features directly into the core app, but it makes sense given the current regulatory and consumer scrutiny,” said Jasmine Enberg, principal social media analyst at Insider Intelligence.

“There are few places left where it doesn’t have a stronghold, and photo-sharing is one,” she added.

Mike Proulx suggested the best way forward for TikTok might be to copy what Meta did with its Twitter rival, Threads, where it leaned heavily on the existing Instagram user base.

“But like Threads, the key will be creating a compelling enough experience to get them to stick around TikTok Notes beyond the initial curiosity factor,” he added.

“When social media features all start to become ubiquitous, what differentiates one social media platform from another narrows. It comes down to community, user experience, and, yes, algorithms.”