While in the vast majority of markets one of the keys to success is to differentiate yourself from your competitors, in the world of social networks the trend ends up being the opposite when something new comes along. TikTok copies the star feature of BeReal: this is the TikTok Now that adopts the successful format of the French social network. After the surprising irruption in the last year of BeReal, its rivals begin to make their own peculiarities that made it different.
TikTok announced that it will introduce in its next updates TikTok Now, a new format that joins the already well-known duos, filters and other characteristic functions of this platform. TikTok Now will send its users a notification informing them that it is time to upload a spontaneous photo or video within three minutes, following the same philosophy as BeReal, with the exception that the latter grants two minutes to upload the content (although it can be published later).
In the case of TikTok , when the TikTok Now notification is received, content can be uploaded using the front and rear cameras of the mobile, being able to upload a 10-second video or a photograph that shows what is being done at that moment.
TikTok is still considering how to implement this new feature, although US users have it built into the main app. In other markets, in which Spain could be included, it is possible that TikTok Now will be downloadable as a new independent TikTok application, according to the press release made public by the social network.
BeReal came to light in 2020 as a social network that fights against the posture of the largest and seeks much more natural content than on Instagram or TikTok itself. Its success has exploded in recent months as a result of the fact that great figures of pop culture such as Rosalía have begun to use it, and this has attracted the attention of its competitors, who have begun to study where its success comes from and to copy it. Instagram has also introduced the Dual feature to its stories that activates both cameras at the same time.
Privacy and features of TikTok Now
As with BeReal, the privacy and features of TikTok Now will be important . As announced by the ByteDance social network, the accounts of all users under the age of 16 will be private by default, and the content of those under the age of 18 will not appear in the Explore feed . To protect minors, TikTok Now will also limit the ability to comment to users between 13 and 15 years old, who will only be able to do so with their friends to protect them from potential unwanted comments.
Adults will have more features available on TikTok Now and their posts can be seen by everyone or just by their friends . The new function (or application) of TikTok will come by default with the option that only friends can see the content of these photos or videos, something that can be modified in the TikTok Now publication screen itself.
Will TikTok’s adoption of this feature kill BeReal? In the past, social networks such as Instagram have already been seen to adopt other peculiarities of the competition (Snapchat or TikTok itself), reaching the point where some users begin to denounce a certain distortion. For now, the reactions of users to the arrival of TikTok Now have been clear, detecting that this “novelty” is nothing more than a movement to replicate and try to contain the success of BeReal.