After hints of it had been noticed floating round in the principle app over the previous couple of weeks, TikTok has now formally launched its new, devoted photo-sharing app, referred to as “TikTok Notes”, with customers in Australia and Canada capable of obtain the separate picture app.

As you possibly can see in these photographs, TikTok Notes is a fundamental photo-sharing app, with photographs and their descriptions as you possibly can already discover on TikTok, however gathered into their very own area.

As defined by TikTok:

“We hope that the TikTok neighborhood will use TikTok Notes to proceed sharing their moments via picture posts. Whether or not documenting adventures, expressing creativity, or just sharing snapshots of 1’s day, the TikTok Notes expertise is designed for many who want to share and interact via picture content material.”

The app structure is harking back to Pinterest, whereas additionally bearing similarities to TikTok’s eCommerce app “Lemon8,” which it launched final yr.

In actual fact, it seems nearly precisely like Lemon8, with out the product focus.

As you possibly can see in these photographs, it’s a type of staggered tile show of photographs from TikTok, with lots of them probably not making as a lot sense with out the broader context of TikTok’s video feed, although that’ll ideally change over time, as customers put up extra to the app particularly.

Consumer profiles additionally look lots like TikTok, with the identical fundamental structure, together with some cool neon coloured icons.

When it comes to posting, you possibly can add as much as 34 photographs to a single put up, with the images offered as a side-scrolling, carousel-like assortment. You even have a 4,000 character caption restrict, together with a title part.

Which is one thing, I assume, although proper now, it’s a reasonably bland app, like TikTok, however with out the essential aspect that makes TikTok compelling, being quick movies.

Like, does anybody really need this?

I assume, for TikTok, it’s seeking to department out into new areas, and experimenting with further codecs and choices with the intention to probably capitalize on new alternatives.

It additionally follows the success of Tencent-backed Xiaohongshu in China, which is basically a neighborhood model of Instagram. That’s seen an enormous rise within the Chinese language market, which has additionally expanded into eCommerce alternatives.

Seemingly, TikTok’s hoping to duplicate that with Notes in Western markets. However in Western markets, we have already got Instagram, so the the technique just isn’t solely clear.

In any occasion, it’s one other experiment, which TikTok will probably be hoping to make use of to broaden its footprint.

Will it work? In all probability not, however possibly it catches on, and supplies a brand new outlet for creators.