New TikTok Photos app could challenge Instagram, but US ban may halt plans
TikTok appears to be working on an Instagram rival but it's now subject to a ban in the US
🆕 A new TikTok Photos app has been spotted
📸 It could be ByteDance’s answer to Instagram
🤔 It’s not clear when the new app will launch
🚫 TikTok has been banned in the US unless it divests in 165 days
TikTok appears to be working on a rival app that could challenge Instagram called ‘TikTok Photos’.
As spotted by Thespandroid, which decompiled the TikTok APK (Android Package) to see if anything had changed, a new “TikTok Photos” platform was found in version 33.8.4.
Even though you can already share multiple photos to TikTok just like Instagram, the platform is best known for its short-form video content, which the likes of YouTube and Instagram quickly adopted in the form of Shorts and Reels, respectively.
However, it seems like TikTok has concluded that its current way of sharing photos isn’t sufficient, resulting in an entirely new app called TikTok Photos that could be announced soon.
A message in the TikTok APK states: “TikTok Photos will be launched soon, we hope to help you gain new audiences in the new app.”
Adding further evidence that a new TikTok app is on the way, Thespandroid even found new icons for the TikTok Photos app.
However, US users may never get to use TikTok Photos. TikTok is facing a ban in the US, as a congressional vote took place today to determine the popular video app’s future. The House of Representatives passed a bill that requires the Chinese-owned app to divest from its ties with China or be banned outright in the US. ByteDance has 165 days to comply.
352 Congress members voted in favor of the bill, with only 65 against. If TikTok fails to divest it will be removed from the App Store and Google Play store.
The app has already been banned in the US House and from being installed on government devices as the debate rages on about whether TikTok is being used for nefarious means.