Taking inspiration from social media app BeReal, that is
known for its Dual Camera feature, TikTok has created and released its own
version of the feature as a separate app called TikTok Now.
The app is centred around the idea of prompting users to
connect with friends on a daily basis by sharing a random video or photo at the
exact same time as friends. “You’ll receive a random daily notification at the
same time as your friends, giving you a 3-minute window to take a 10-second
video or real-time photo using both the front and back cameras,” says the
description of the app.
The app, however, is only available outside of US, where its
feature is part of the main TikTok app and not available separately. Perhaps TikTok
has used this tactic to avoid competing with BeReal as a rival app in the US,
where it has the majority of its userbase.
BeReal’s gradual popularity has led the app to have about 10
million daily active users, and over 43 million downloads. With TikTok Now being
promoted against it, BeReal could face a major challenge; the same way Clubhouse
did with Twitter and began losing its momentum as a result of its signature
element of social audio being replicated by a more popular social platform.
Nevertheless, BeReal seems to have considered other options
to try to continue its flow of success, particularly through monetization. The platform
is currently looking to develop add-on subscription features to avoid ads. Whether
or not that will prove to be a beneficial implementation shall be revealed in
the near future.
