“New Way To Express Yourself”: TikTok Announces New Feature, Similar to Twitter, Instagram, Threads

• The microblogging site Twitter has a new headache, and it is TikTok after the company's launch of a new text-only feature
• This is coming a few weeks after Mark Zuckerberg's Threads went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries, including Nigeria
• The latest feature gives TikTok's millions of users three options on the app - whether to post photos, videos, or text

Chinese social media giant, TikTok now offers a text-only post option in addition to photos and video posts for its millions of users.

TikTok in a post announcing the changes said the new update gives its users another way to express themselves.

How the new TikTok feature will work

The new update allows text posts to appear similar to Facebook, and Instagram stories visually: while users can add a background color, edit how text appears, and add music and stickers to the post.

Read also

Why Musk's 'X' will struggle to become a Chinese-style super-app

TikTok explained:

"When you access the Camera page, you'll be able to choose from three options: photo, video, and text.

"By selecting text, you'll be directed to the text creation page, where you can type out the content of your post around 1,000-character limit

"Upon reaching the Post page, you'll find familiar options to customize your content. These include adding Sound, tagging a location, enabling comments, and allowing Duets, among others. These features make it so your text posts are just as dynamic and interactive as any video or photo post."

Twitter, Threads, TikTok Microblogging

The new update has put TikTok in direct competition with Elon Musk's Twitter and the recently launched Thread owned by Mark Zuckerberg.

For years, Twitter has dominated the microblogging social media space with approximately 450 million monthly active users as of 2022.

Read also

Elon Musk puts his "X" on Twitter

However, with a series of changes being implemented by Elon Musk since he bought Twitter, other social media rivals have been making efforts to provide alternatives.

Legit.ng had previously reported that Twitter now charges $8 (about N6,343.84) monthly for verification - a blue tick that not only shows the authenticity of an account but was also seen as a badge of honor.

Additionally, Twitter has added restrictions to users who failed to subscribe, including limitations on sending messages to fellow users.

These changes are new to the industry and have caused concern among users, prompting Mark Zuckerberg to launch Thread, and now TikTok is providing alternatives as well.

Also, there are platforms such as Bluesky, Mastodon, and a litany of others are trying to position themselves as a viable replacement to Twitter.

Facebook also wants users to pay to be verified

Read also

Twitter to be renamed X, get new logo

In another report, Mark Zuckerberg has taken a page from Elon Musk's playbook and announced plans to charge users for verification.

Zuckerberg explained that users signing up for Meta's new systems would receive exclusive stickers for stories and reels and 100 free monthly stars, or the digital currency used to tip Facebook creators.

Dailymail reports that the verification will cost $11.99/month on the web and $14.99/month on iOS.

Source: Legit.ng