[LAUREN TAYLOR]
SOCIAL MEDIA WARS ARE HEATING UP.
LAST MONTH, IT WAS UNCOVERED THAT TIKTOK WAS WORKING ON A RIVAL TO INSTAGRAM.
AND NOW IT HAS A NAME, “TIKTOK NOTES.”
THE NEW NAME STARTED POPPING UP — AS SOME USERS RECEIVED NOTIFICATIONS ANNOUNCING PHOTO POSTS WOULD BE SHOWN ON TIKTOK NOTES.
THE NOTIFICATION STATES USERS CAN OPT OUT, ACCORDING TO IMAGES SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
NO RELEASE DATE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED YET, BUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT DID CONFIRM ITS EXISTENCE TO TECH CRUNCH.
THE MOVE COMES AS IG RECENTLY LAUNCHED “REELS.”
IT’S INSTA’S OWN SHORT-FORM VIDEO FEATURE, BASICALLY A REPLICA OF TIKTOK’S SCROLLING FEED.
META AND BYTEDANCE, THE PARENT COMPANIES OF INSTAGRAM AND TIKTOK, RESPECTIVELY, ARE IN A BATTLE FOR USERS.
LAST YEAR, INSTAGRAM OVERTOOK TIKTOK IN NEW APP DOWNLOADS.
TIKTOK STILL TRAILS INSTAGRAM, WITH 1.12 BILLION USERS–
COMPARED TO INSTAGRAM’S 1.47 BILLION USERS.
TIKTOK’S STILL SEEING GROWTH — DESPITE EFFORTS IN CONGRESS TO BAN IT — IF CHINA-BASED BYTEDANCE WON’T SELL IT TO AN AMERICAN COMPANY.
ONE THIRD OF AMERICAN ADULTS USE TIKTOK.
AND ALTHOUGH INSTAGRAM HAS MORE USERS, THOSE ON TIKTOK SPEND MORE TIME ON THE PLATFORM.