What does TikTok do?
TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing, and discovering short-form videos. Users can upload their own content with music, effects, and filters, or watch a personalized, algorithm-driven feed of videos on various topics, from entertainment to DIY and educational content. The app is known for its emphasis on authentic, user-generated content and its ability to foster trends and viral challenges within a vast global community.
TikTok's core gathering place for content is its For You page, which uses its proprietary machine-learning algorithm to show users content tailored to their interests, even from people they don't follow. Beyond the For You feed, users can explore content through the search tool, explore page, or by following hashtags and other users. While TikTok began with music and lip-syncing videos, it now features a wide range of content, including comedy, educational videos, cooking, fashion, and more.
Users can interact with videos through comments, shares, and duets (creating new content alongside another user's video). The platform provides tools and features to help users learn about their content's performance, build a community, and potentially monetize their creations. A key aspect of TikTok's culture is its emphasis on authentic, relatable content, which can lead to higher engagement compared to aesthetically perfect content.
TikTok has introduced new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features, such as AI Alive, which allows users to turn still images into videos within TikTok Stories. Advertisers on TikTok can also now connect with users on other messaging apps like Meta Platform’s (META -0.06%) WhatsApp and Messenger and receive direct messages from livestreams to acquire new customers.
ByteDance is headquartered in Beijing. However, TikTok has dual global headquarters in Los Angeles and Singapore. TikTok has long maintained that it operates separately from ByteDance, especially concerning its U.S. data and content moderation. According to TikTok, about 60% of ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors, 20% by the company's founders, and 20% by employees.
