Is Tik-Tok Going to Copy Instagram?

The quickly growing Tik-Tok, a short video sharing platform, which now boasts over 700 million users, seems to be taking inspiration from Instagram in developing a range of new features. This revelation was made recently by reverse engineering specialist Jane Manchun Wong who posted screenshots on Twitter. These can help us see if Tik-Tok is actually going to copy Instagram.

Is Tik-Tok actually copying Instagram?

 

The screenshots depicted a variety of different features, many of which seemed to share striking similarities with Instagram features. The most noticeable one was a ‘For You’ page which seems to follow the grid-style layout of the Instagram Explore. This would allow users to scroll through a selection of videos and select which one to view rather than swiping through videos one by one as their current format requires. This new design could help Tik-Tok more effectively determine a user’s preferences and thus promote engagement.

TikTok is working on grid feed layout.

It works like Instagram's Explore feed pic.twitter.com/gnhaRyiSx2

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) July 18, 2019

A new ‘Discover’ tab might also be integrated into Tik-Tok’s main navigation and is set to replace the Search Tab. It will facilitate users to find more creators in order to follow rather than just displaying videos and sounds. This could serve as a great boost for Tik-Tok creator’s popularity as recent events have shown that users, especially the younger generation consider them to be more easily approachable and open than other video content creators.

What other features can we expect?

 

The ‘Suggested Users’ feature could also help contribute to this concept as getting onto the suggested page is how creators across various platforms tend to grow in popularity.

Nonetheless, Tik-Tok does not seem to be following directly in Instagram’s footsteps as while Instagram is testing a feature which allows users to hide likes in an attempt to combat various mental health issues. Tik-Tok is actually testing displaying features which not only show likes and shares but also downloads. This feature would come at a very good time for the app and it would further encourage creators to post even more content.

Wong also discovered features which would allow the app to work more easily with other apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram and thus drive traffic to one another.

While Tik-Tok has not yet released an official statement divulging any particular details on the matter of whether it will copy Instagram. A spokesman for the company confirmed testing new features and said,

“We’re always experimenting with new ways to improve the app experience for our community.”

In the meanwhile, we’ll just have to wait and see just how closely Tik-Tok will actually copy Instagram.

Suggested Reading: Instagram is Now Hiding like counts in Several Countries