Looks Like Tiktok Is Launching a Dedicated Photo App
Instagram has been slowly turning into TikTok for years now. TikTok looks set to do the same thing, but in reverse.
“Tiktok Photos”, which has not yet been officially announced, appears to be a new app from ByteDance, the Chinese technology company that owns TikTok. It will reportedly be an app dedicated to photo sharing, which is what Instagram, in particular, was before that platform became a collection of A/B-tested addiction loops.
Little is known about TikTok Photos other than a link to the app found by assembleDebug, a blogger who regularly decompiles and digs into Android app code. A blog post by TheSPAndroid notes that the TikTok app already contains text (likely to be sent to users in the coming weeks) to help users set up a new app called “Tiktok Photos.” Here’s the text taken directly from the current version of TikTok for Android:
With TikTok Photos launching soon, we look forward to helping you reach new audiences on the new app. If the switch is turned on, we’ll sync your public photos to the new app regardless of whether you close the pop-up window or not.
The presence of similar text in the current version of TikTok means that ByteDance is planning to launch a photo app soon and that existing TikTok users will be asked to install it. Of course, it’s possible that TikTok is simply testing a new idea internally; there is no guarantee that this application will actually see the light of day. TheSPAndroid also found image files that are almost certainly the logo of this app, no matter what state the app is in.
It would be an interesting time for TikTok to launch a new app, to say the least. Bipartisan legislation moving through the US Congress would force China-based ByteDance to “divest” from TikTok so it can continue operating in the United States. Last week , TikTok asked users to help stop the US government from banning the app , using an in-app prompt asking users to call their representatives. The resulting wave of phone calls was so overwhelming that it backfired: The calls convinced some members of Congress that the app was too powerful . The bill was unanimously passed by the committee immediately after the protest.
I can’t help but hope that some app will replace what Instagram used to be. I’d like to have a place to view photos posted by my friends and family without distracting me from viral videos. Given the current political climate and TikTok’s own track record, I doubt TikTok Photos will turn into this. I guess I’ll just keep hoping that the new app will soon capture the early Instagram vibe and actually catch on.