Behind you, Zuckerberg: TikTok reportedly planning to launch its own photo app soon, competing with Instagram, as per developers' reports. The new app, TikTok Notes, is said to likely include all existing captioning features of TikTok, allowing a much wider design spectrum than Instagram. Additionally, it will enable TikTok's "photo app" to remain alongside its video application.
The initial report about TikTok's anticipated new photo app surfaced about a month ago - then, it was revealed that posts of images could be synced between the existing app and the new service. The application will also allow users to share posts about photos within the regular TikTok app via a pop-up message.
Furthermore, users will be able to post on TikTok Notes without leaving the current TikTok app, adding more hours of presence on the Chinese platform and revenue. Instagram will need to prepare for fierce competition from the Chinese company, which will try to bypass any potential bans in the U.S.
TikTok is one of the world's leading apps, featuring short video clips ranging from 3 seconds to 10 minutes.
Estimated user numbers on the app in 2024 are at least 1.7 billion - a nearly 400% increase since 2018. User numbers are expected to grow to 2.13 billion by 2025. Two weeks ago, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly endorsed both parties' support for a bill that could ban the social network's activity in the U.S. within months due to its ties to the Chinese government. The bill has moved to the Senate, and it's still unclear if it will receive overwhelming support there too.
U.S. government agencies have warned in recent years that TikTok collects information on American citizens and is suspected of ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its intelligence services. Federal and state legislators have already advanced legislation to ban the use of the app on government devices, but efforts to limit its use on private devices have so far failed. TikTok cautioned in response to the bill proposal that it "will deprive 170 million Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of expression." The network even urged its users to pressure members of Congress and public officials to report an enormous amount of calls in the days leading up to the vote.