Even as lawmakers debate banning the platform in the U.S., TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, appears to be launching a new photo-centric social media platform, according to a new report.
As discovered by the well-known app sleuth AssembleDebug, text lurking in the code of the latest version of the Chinese video-sharing giantâs Android app reveals plans for an all-new âTikTok Photosâ appâtaking a swipe at arch-rival Instagram and offering a major new platform for sharing photos online.
According to the discovered text, the new TikTok Photos platform will launch âsoon,â and it will be possible to synchronize photo posts between regular TikTok and the new service. It also suggests that TikTok users will be automatically prompted to share their photo posts via a pop-up message in the TikTok app.
The whole text string reads as follows:
- âTikTok Photos will be launched soon, we hope to help you gain new audiences in the new app. If the switch is on, we’ll sync your public photos to the new app, whether you close the pop-up or not.â
Also concealed within the current TikTok app is the new TikTok Photos icon, shown in AssmbleDebugâs capture below:
Other relevant text strings within the app include:
- âOpen TikTok Photosâ
- âGet TikTok Photosâ
- âShare this post to TikTok Photosâ
- âShareâ
- âYour post has been shared to TikTok Photosâ
- âTikTok Photosâ
- âOn TikTok Photosâ
- âShare to TikTok Photosâ
- âReach other like-minded people who enjoy photo postsâ
- âShare photo posts to TikTok Photosâ
The text strings above point to ways in which users will be able to share their TikTok photo posts to TikTok Photos without leaving their current app, encouraging them to reach new audiences by trying out TikTok Photos.
Besides âsoon,â thereâs no information as to when the new TikTok Photos service might launch, but Instagram should prepare for some fierce competition. It remains to be seen whether the new TikTok Photos app might skirt any potential U.S. TikTok ban.
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