TikTok Notes: plans for new photo-based social network, reports claim

Andrew Williams
·2 min read
TikTok users have received notifications in the app that Notes is coming, according to multiple posts on social media (TikTok)
TikTok users have received notifications in the app that Notes is coming, according to multiple posts on social media (TikTok)

TikTok is reportedly to launch a new social network intended for images rather than videos.

It’s called TikTok Notes and TikTok users have received notifications in the app that Notes is coming, according to multiple posts on social media.

“TikTok Notes, a new app for photo posts, is coming soon. Your existing and future public TikTok photo posts will be shown on TikTok Notes,” the pop-up reads. It also provides a button to stop this cross-posting of photos.

TikTok Notes is not yet available but a teaser image was visible at photos.tiktok.com at the time of writing (seen above this article).

We have approached TikTok for comment on plans for TikTok Notes.

This is not the first time TikTok has shifted the network’s formula. In July 2023, it announced text-only posts, encouraging comparisons to Twitter, now known as X.

Text posts didn’t impact much but TikTok Notes is a more substantial change, with posts going in a separate app.

TikTok was one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in 2020-2023 (PA Archive)
TikTok was one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in 2020-2023 (PA Archive)

Long-standing social media users may view this as TikTok’s attempt to take some of Instagram’s user base. However, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said it stopped being a largely image-led social network in 2021.

“We’re no longer a photo-sharing app,” Mosseri said in a post cementing Instagram’s plans to focus on video and online shopping.

TikTok was one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in 2020-2023 — alongside video game streaming specialist Twitch and “real life” focused BeReal. But according to BusinessInsider, its growth has stalled — particularly in the US.

In 2022, President Joe Biden banned government employees from using TikTok on work devices. The UK Government followed suit in March 2023.

In March 2024, Biden signalled his intention to support legislation to ban the app across the US if TikTok was not sold, severing ties with its Chinese owners.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a tech company based in Beijing, with other offices worldwide. People in China use a different version of TikTok called Douyin, launched in 2016.