TikTok is creating a number of new features, including Bitmoji-like avatars, keyword filtering for the For You page, group chats, audio-only live streams, screen sharing on live streams, and subscriptions similar to Twitch, which would allow creators to become subscribers. only emotes and subscriber-only comment sections. These potential ongoing features were spotted by the social media analyst Matt Navarra.
These leaks should be taken at face value – just because TikTok is toying with a new idea doesn’t mean it will be released on the app. But developing features can sometimes provide insights into a platform’s plans.
“We are always thinking of new ways to add value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a TikTok spokesperson told Ploonge. The spokesperson confirmed that these features are indeed being considered, but emphasized that when TikTok tries out new ideas, the goal is to get feedback from users – the resulting feature (if it launches) could look very different than what we see in leaks.
Some of these leaked features have already been publicly tested in some way, such as paid creator subscriptions. But emotes and subscriber-only comment sections — which borrow directly from Twitch — might make sense in the context of another recent TikTok test: a desktop streaming software called TikTok Live Studio. The keyword filtering feature – which is similar to Twitter’s muted words feature – has already been mentioned as part of TikTok continuous effort to clean up your page for you.
“We’re working on a feature that lets people choose words or hashtags associated with content that they don’t want to see in their For You feed,” TikTok he wrote in a December blog post.
The other leaked ideas, like avatars and audio-only live streams, point to other potential avenues for TikTok expansion. If they can stream live video, why not try to capitalize (very late) on the interest in live audio? Also, it’s time to group messages on TikTok.