TikTok Friends Tab Testing Replaces Discover Tab

Have you noticed a little change in your TikTok app tabs? Many users report that the customary Discover tab got replaced with the Friends tab. Unlike Discover which shows global trending content, the new tab shows only the videos uploaded by your TikTok contacts. TikTok has recently confirmed that more users will start seeing this tab on their devices and here is why. 

Celebrating Community

As TikTok explains in one of its latest tweets, the new tab is designed to draw your attention to the posts of your followers whom you followed back, your own subscriptions, and suggestions based on the previous two. One of the purposes of the new tab is to encourage you to expand your own TikTok connections and interact with other users more inside the app. But isn’t it exactly the same thing that the Following tab does? 

Well, it looks like the company has a plan to generate even more direct interactions between the users. But is it good or bad for us, users? Looking at the long-term perspective, this chance seems to be nothing but positive. It has all chances to turn TikTok into something bigger than just a feed with trending clips and establish millions of new interpersonal connections. This will make the app much more valuable and exciting to use. 

The company itself is also more interested in such a result to generate more returns to the app rather than make feed-scrolling sessions longer. In terms of competition, boosting personal sharing means eating into Snapchat’s or Instagram’s market shares. 

Ready for Change?

Are you ready for TikTok to grow into something that replaces Snapchat, Instagram, and other social networks altogether? Of course, the big tech will do everything to not let this happen, but isn’t TikTok securely isolated from them in China? Tell us what you think below and share the news with others on social media.