Don’t you want to be like BeReal? The problem with a successful product is that everyone wants to copy it! BeReal is perhaps, the rave of the moment, and it is little wonder TikTok is rolling out a replica—”TikTok Now.” Per TikTok, its new feature “brings the authenticity of TikTok to a whole new creative experience that connects you with those closest to you.”
BeReal pioneered a ‘style’ that sends a user a push notification at the same time and snaps two pictures—one using the rear-facing camera and one using the selfie camera. The push notification has a two-minute window, and any post made outside of it is regarded as “late” by BeReal. It is a fun way of encouraging users to post videos and pictures at specific periods in a day.
TikTok’s new feature works almost the same way as BeReal. Once a day, you will receive a “Time to Now” notification that prompts you to “capture” a 10-second video or a static photo that can be easily shared to your friends to let them know what you are up to. While BeReal’s window elapses in two minutes, TikTok’s new feature has a three-minute window.
TikTok has added a new “Now” option at the bottom tab bar of the app that combines regular TikTok posts from your friends as well as “Now” posts from your friends. The company said TikTok Now will be rolled out as a standalone app in some countries.
“We’re experimenting with TikTok Now over the coming weeks. In the US, TikTok Now can be accessed from the TikTok app. In other regions, TikTok Now may be available as a new TikTok Now app, too. We’ll continue to enhance the user experience as we learn more about how the TikTok community embraces this new creative format.”
TikTok has announced some privacy limitations that would guide in the use of its new feature. These limitations include the following:
- If someone under the age of 16 creates an account to use the TikTok Now app, just like TikTok, their account will be private by default
- Those under the age of 18 will not be able to share their content on the Explore feed
- People aged between 13 and 15 will have commenting options limited to Friends only to help protect against unwanted interactions
For users older than 18, TikTok added some more sharing options. In addition to sharing with their mutual friends, “they can opt to share their posts with the broader TikTok Now community based on the privacy settings they have chosen.”
