Moving Closer To Social Media, TikTok Plans To Launch A Group Chat Feature This Year

According to a Reuters report yesterday, the short video platform TikTok may launch a group chat function this year, thereby shaping TikTok into a "social interaction application" and competing head-on with social media such as Facebook. However, TikTok’s Chinese version of App Douyin has already launched this feature as early as 2019.

TikTok's group chat function can extend users' usage time, while helping to develop the platform's expanding live broadcast and e-commerce businesses, making it easier for KOLs and KOCs to connect with their fans.

According to people familiar with the matter, ByteDance held internal discussions on the development of the group chat function in 2020, but it was shelved after receiving hostile policies from Trump and the Indian government. Therefore, after Biden suspended the TikTok ban, TikTok finally had time and energy to plan for future development. It is reported that the official release time and location of the group chat function is still in the evaluation process, but people familiar with the matter revealed that it should be implemented this year.

This strategy of TikTok is similar to the development of short video functions by social media giants such as Facebook and WeChat. They are all moving closer to each other, hoping to inhibit the growth rate of their opponents while building a defensive position for their own future development.

If TikTok, which is widely loved by young users, can effectively implement these social media expansion strategies, it may pose a real threat to Facebook’s social media dominance and become the preferred application for social interaction among young people, while Facebook and Instagram He won't sit still and wait for death.

TikTok still has a long way to go to achieve the above achievements, and it is not enough to launch a group chat function alone. Establishing a clearer revenue sharing plan with content creators will be a key step for TikTok to embark on a new journey.

How will TikTok’s social layout develop in the future? Let us wait and see!