TikTok Unveils New Text Format

TikTok, a social media site popular for its addictive video content, said on Monday that it will allow text-only submissions, making it the newest tech behemoth to provide an alternative to Twitter, which is already facing backlash.

The text uploads on TikTok will be most similar to comparable content on Instagram, which earlier this month also unveiled Threads as a rival to Twitter, which owner Elon Musk nicknamed X.

TikTok, which is owned by Meta and has over 1.4 billion monthly active users, has the same advantages as Meta-owned Threads.

Contrary to Facebook's parent company, it opted to include the new text-only functionality within the existing app rather than releasing a new product like Meta did with Threads.

Users may add a color backdrop, music, and stickers to the post on TikTok, which will continue to be more visually appealing than a Twitter or Threads post.

The new format, according to the Chinese-owned corporation, would broaden "boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok" and draw on the "creativity" shown in captions and comments.

Smaller platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Substack Notes have also arisen as possible competitors to Twitter, in addition to Threads, although none have yet to dethrone it despite its problems.

Musk claimed last week that Twitter has lost around half of its advertising revenue, which presents a chance for the rivals.