TikTok has begun rolling out its new photo-sharing app, TikTok Notes, to users in certain countries, just over a week after announcing its plans. TikTok acknowledged the development in a series of posts by the company’s official communications account on X (previously Twitter).
As of April 17, 2024, only certain people in Australia and Canada can download the TikTok Notes app. Furthermore, the post on X emphasizes that TikTok Notes is a “dedicated space” for sharing text and photo content, meaning that the app is distinct from the main TikTok application. TikTok has yet to disclose when it will make the app available to consumers in the US.
TikTok’s new Notes app is now available for download on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, but only for users in Australia and Canada for the time being. These app store listings also include screenshots of the TikTok Notes UI, which users will experience after downloading and installing the app on their cell phones.
TikTok Notes vs. Instagram: How concerned should Meta be?
While TikTok and Instagram had very different target audiences in their early days, these applications have been at odds for the past several years, particularly since Instagram “encroached” into TikTok’s area of short videos with Instagram Reels. While there is no disputing that Reels has been a huge success, Instagram began as a photo-sharing tool. TikTok appears to be giving Instagram (and Meta) a taste of its own medicine with Notes, as it makes its presence felt in the still popular photo-sharing domain.
TikTok’s screenshots give us a good picture of what the TikTok Notes UI looks like. Notes’ capacity to make image headlines is a significant advantage over Instagram.
The grid style of the photographs also appears very different from what you’re used to seeing on Instagram. TikTok appears to have taken inspiration from X, since it provides users with different areas for viewing TikTok ‘Notes’ from individuals they follow, as well as a separate “For You” page that suggests people you might be interested in following.
Incidentally, the announcement of TikTok Notes’ partial premiere comes on the same day that Elon Musk hinted to Vine’s potential reappearance. This popular software for sharing short videos predates TikTok and Instagram Reels.