TikTok is reportedly getting closer to launching an app to rival Instagram
Some TikTok users have apparently been getting messages letting them know that a new TikTok platform is on the way, aimed specifically at sharing photos and text.
The platform or app will apparently be called TikTok Notes and sounds a lot like a direct competitor for Instagram, which itself has pivoted quite hard into video to compete with TikTok, with its Reels platform.
In an amusingly circular world, then, it looks like they're both going after each other's lunches if everything is as it seems.
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The pop-up message detailing this new app was posted to Reddit this week, and shows a message letting the user know that their "photo posts will be shown on TikTok Notes", with the option to toggle this on or off.
That sounds a little like the way that posts from Threads are sometimes shown in the feed on Instagram with more limited interactivity, as a way of cross-pollinating between the two Meta-owned apps.
It's also been pointed out that TikTok has a website live for Notes already, albeit one with very little that you can do on it - it's at notes.tiktok.com, and shows a few sample posts along with a button to get the app which currently doesn't work.
Even with those, though, it's not clear exactly what features the app will offer - you can't see comment sections, for example, but it feels a safe assumption that these would exist.
TikTok isn't being too coy about this, either, having confirmed to the BBC that it's working on the app, so it looks like we could see it arriving sooner rather than later. It called TikTok notes a "dedicated space" for text and photo content (since you can post photos on TikTok at present).
So, if this is a separate app it could well see TikTok making a play for those who aren't quite comfortable making videos or filming themselves - which does account for a lot of people.
In fact, this wouldn't just stand as a competitor to Instagram, but also to Threads and indeed X (formerly Twitter) since it sounds like TikTok Notes could encompass many of each app's features.
This is all even more interesting in light of the pressure being exerted on TikTok by US lawmakers at present - the company is under heavy pressure to separate from its owner ByteDance, which many observers feel is too closely tied to the Chinese government.
These governmental ties and concerns over data security and implementation mean that TikTok is under threat of a total ban in the US.