Get ready for more DMs on TikTok.
The ByteDance-own app has added a few new features to its direct messages. Users can now start Group chats on TikTok with up to 32 people, and the app also gets a library of Stickers that promise new forms of expression.
Group chats will make TikTok’s DMs more useful. Instagram has often copied products made famous by TikTok (and received mixed reviews in the process). This is one of those cases where TikTok is trying to adopt a feature associated with its meta-owned rival. Instagram DMs are an indispensable part of Gen-Z culture, but TikTok is trying to move some of those group conversations to its platform.
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“Creative expression is truly limitless on TikTok,” reads a post from the TikTok Newsroom. “We’re always looking for new ways to enrich the TikTok experience and bring this mantra to life for our global community, and we’ll continue to introduce features that help you discover shared entertainment through authentic connections.”
DMs are already available on TikTok, though previous coverage of the feature has focused on parental moderation of underage users’ messages rather than the rollout of updated options. As with TikTok’s other DMs, group chats are restricted to users 15 and older.
Although teen group chatters will experience some limitations in their DMs (for example, their interactions with strangers will be limited), they will also join the rest of TikTok in enjoying the app’s new stickers. The landing page for the feature states that users will be able to “create and showcase their unique sticker designs in TikTok.”
The focus on user creation could potentially make stickers a new revenue stream for TikTokers. Other platforms like Snapchat have already made this move. TikTok already rewards creative users who create the most popular effects, and perks for sticker creators could be a natural extension of that program.
