TikTok is expanding its direct messaging capabilities, allowing โคusers to share voice notes, images, and videos within chats, the company โannounced today, August 30, 2024 at โ20:15:48 UTC. The update bringsโค TikTok closer in line with establishedโข messaging platforms like snapchat and Messenger, and signals a continued effort to foster deeper connections among its user base.
The move arrives as โTikTok strives to become a more extensive social platform, moving beyond short-formโข video. While โvoice notes will be limited to โขone minute in length,users can send up to nine images or videos in โa single โmessage. This expanded functionality impacts TikTok’s โover one billion โขactive users globally, particularly those who rely on the platform for personal communication alongside content consumption. tiktok’s messaging features have historically lagged behind competitors, and this update represents โฃa meaningful step toward parity,โ potentially increasing user engagement and time spent within the app.
However, TikTok is implementing several safety measures alongside the new features. Users will beโค prohibited from sending an image or video as the initial message in a โconversation. Existing rules requiring users to be at โขleast 16 years old to โaccess โคmessaging will โremainโ in effect. Furthermore, users โ18 and older can โnow control whether TikTok automaticallyโ detects and blocks images containing nudity in chats with users aged 16-18.
TikTok previously introduced group chats supportingโฃ up to 32 participants in 2023, andโข in April 2024, rolled out “Footnotes,” a feature mirroring X’s (formerly Twitter) Community Notes, allowing users to add contextual details to videos. These additions demonstrate TikTok’s ongoing strategy ofโข adopting features from rival platforms whileโฃ tailoring them to its unique surroundings.