It appears like TikTok could also be near launching its new devoted photograph app, which has been within the works for some time, and should now have a brand new, official identify.

As you’ll be able to see on this instance, posted by @cmcalgary, some customers at the moment are being knowledgeable that their nonetheless picture uploads on TikTok will quickly be viewable on “TikTok Notes” as nicely.

As per the pop-up:

“TikTok Notes, a brand new app for photograph posts, is coming quickly. Your current and future public TikTok photograph posts shall be proven on TikTok Notes.”

So primarily, TikTok’s seeking to launch a clone of what Instagram initially was, and populate it with the entire nonetheless photographs which have already been shared to its predominant app.

So it’s pulling an Uno reverse card on Meta, and replicating its options for a change, although whether or not TikTok customers will really be excited about a separate nonetheless picture app stays to be seen.

As famous, TikTok has really been experimenting with a photograph app for a while, with references to “TikTok Images” noticed within the back-end code of the app early final month. That’s now seemingly been up to date to “TikTok Notes” as a substitute, which is also one other potential dig at Instagram, which has its personal “Notes” characteristic, which now contains the capability to share various kinds of updates with chosen buddies.

TikTok’s additionally been pushing customers to publish nonetheless photographs within the app. It added a “photograph mode” in 2022, enabling customers to share nonetheless photographs in-stream, which it’s additionally been encouraging by way of pop-up alerts as nicely.

The addition of a nonetheless picture app additionally aligns with Chinese language market tendencies, the place the Tencent-backed Xiaohongshu, primarily a neighborhood model of Instagram, has seen large success, notably after incorporating eCommerce options.

As such, it is smart for TikTok to strive it out, through the use of the content material that it already has. However I stay skeptical that customers are going to need one other nonetheless picture app, and that TikTok will be capable to translate its short-form video success into one other platform.

However with a possible ban looming, possibly TikTok’s pulling out all of the stops, and attempting out its numerous experiments whereas it may well.

TikTok proprietor ByteDance has already launched its separate eCommerce platform Lemon8 in Western areas, which noticed a heap of early consideration, then misplaced traction just a few months in. It additionally has TikTok Music, which has seen some success.

A separate picture app is one other potential pathway, and it does seem to be TikTok is pushing forward with it, at the very least as an experiment.

We’ve requested TikTok for extra info, and we’ll replace this publish if/after we hear again.