What the $%^# Is ‘TikTok Now’?

TikTok, you’re better than this.

I thought that you were special. I thought that you were creative. I thought you would be to apps what Nintendo is to video game consoles. That you were the fun company who came up with cool, original things (like the Switch) and left less creative companies (like Playstation and Microsoft) to wage their endless console wars. But no, you’re just like everyone else. You steal ideas. You copy people and I should have known better. After all, you’re a social media app. You can’t fight your very nature. I thought you would, but you can’t.

What is TikTok Now and why does it look familiar?

So, to start, we have to talk about a different social media app, called BeReal. BeReal is an app, that came out in 2020, and had this idea—basically, it prompts the user to take an unfiltered photo using the front and back of their camera at a random time of day, so people will know exactly what you’re doing, and who you’re doing it with (Not a great app if you’re having a torrid affair or, like, the head of an international crime syndicate, but other than that, genius!). If they posted a photo of themselves singing onstage, BeReal would make sure that everyone knows that there was no one in the crowd. And that’s authenticity. Something I thought you had, TikTok. The app has become very popular as of late, and so, here’s where TikTok comes in.

TikTok Now Launches

Recently, TikTok launched a stand-alone app called, “TikTok Now”—an app where users are prompted every day, at a random time, to download a pic from the front and back of their camera. Sound familiar? I mean, come on, TikTok. You just copy-pasted BeReal’s idea and made it “TikTok Now”, which is the exact same thing. Like to the letter. You didn’t change ANYTHING. It’s a random notification to shoot a 10-second photo or video. It’s a clone. And NOT the cool kind from Star Wars.

This is a new low, TikTok. We’d like to see a 10-second front and back video capturing the moment you decided it would be a good idea to steal. What would we see? Who ARE you, TikTok? Why don’t you be real for a change?

(Featured image credit: ABC)