ByteDance announced the end of TikTok Now, a function integrated into the famous social video network that encourages users to make spontaneous publications at any time of the day. The app began notifying users about the discontinuation of the feature this Tuesday (27), less than a year after its launch.
Several Twitter users found a message on their home screens stating that the company is “updating the TikTok experience and discontinuing TikTok Now”. The reason for the closure of the appeal is not disclosed.
TikTok Now began rolling out to users in September last year to follow the BeReal trend, a social network founded in 2020, but which only went viral in 2022, when it also won the Best iPhone App award. Favorite among Europeians, the application also had its functions copied by Instagram.
The platform’s differential was to encourage users to publish candid photos of their daily lives, without filters and within minutes to ensure maximum naturalness. This strategy was adopted as a way to combat addiction to social networks and ensure that the content shared on the platform “is real” and free of artificiality.
TikTok Now made it possible to record videos of up to 10 seconds, while BeReal only supports still photos. Although the notification does not provide a specific date for the discontinuation of the TikTok feature, it is possible that users will no longer have access to the spontaneous captures function in the coming weeks.
After going viral and reaching a personal record for downloads, BeReal began to lose popularity among users. O New York Times released statistics that showed a 61% drop in number of users between October 2022 and March 2023, dropping from 15 million to less than 6 million daily active people on the social network.
“Gen Z picks up on viral content very quickly, but it comes out even faster,” said a 17-year-old former BeReal user.
To try to recover the lost fans, BeReal began to adapt to the molds of the most popular social networks in the world. RealChat, for example, is a text chat function that is being tested with a portion of users. In addition, the platform started to offer a feed dedicated to famous publications.
