TikTok launches a ‘BeReal’ clone called ‘TikTok Now’
TikTok has announced a new feature called ‘TikTok Now,’ which will ask users to snap a photo using their phone’s front and back cameras at a random time of day, similar to BeReal’s strategy. BeReal is a new social networking platform that seeks to innovate. Instead of bombarding users with an ongoing algorithmic feed of concerns such as unrealistic life and body standards, users are prompted to take a photograph at a random time of day.
The new TikTok Now feature performs nearly identically. Every day, you’ll receive a “Time to Now” alert, prompting you to “record a 10-second video or a static snapshot to instantly share what you’re up to.” If you publish within three weeks,
Your post will be marked as “on time” within minutes of receiving the notification. Otherwise, you will be reported for posting late.
The image, which depicts both the front and rear camera views, serves as a stark reminder that what people do in their daily lives is not the heavily edited version that they share on platforms such as Instagram. The concept has caught on, so much so that BeReal became the number one non-gaming app on the App Store in the United States in August.
As a result, TikTok Now includes some privacy features from the start. If a person under the age of 16 registers for a standalone TikTok Now app, their account will be set to private by default, similar to how it is with Instagram TikTok. Additionally, users must be at least 18 years old in order to share their BeReals TikTok Now posts on the Explore Feed. For users 13 to 15, only your friends — those you follow who follow you back — will be able to comment on your posts. Even for users 18 and up, the default setting restricts access to your postings to friends; however, they can change their settings to share with the rest of the world if they prefer.
