Because the clock winds down towards TikTok’s potential ban, we have compiled a listing of probably the most reasonable different short-form platforms for each creators and viewers.
It is 2025 and TikTok’s destiny in the USA remains to be undecided. The Biden administration had instructed the corporate in April 2024 that it will must divest its possession inside 9 months, or the app would face a ban.
The deadline, set for January 19, is quickly approaching. And, ought to the ban maintain up, tens of millions of TikTok creators and viewers are going to be left within the lurch.
That is why we have taken the time to compile a listing of probably the most viable options to TikTok.
Should you’re within the US, likelihood is you are in all probability at the very least conscious of Instagram, if not already an avid person. Established in 2010, Instagram is likely one of the bigger social media platforms and boasts over 2.4 billion energetic customers worldwide — that is about one-fourth of the world’s energetic web customers.
In 2020, Instagram launched a function referred to as Instagram Reels, the platform’s tackle short-form video. Many established TikTok content material creators already cross-post to Instagram, so the change might show to be comparatively simple.
For creators seeking to transfer to Instagram, it is value noting a few variations in video size. Should you’re recording content material immediately from the Instagram app, movies are restricted to 90 seconds lengthy. Should you select to add content material out of your cellphone, you possibly can go so long as quarter-hour.
TikTok, for comparability, permits customers to file as much as 10 minutes value of content material to submit immediately from the TikTok app. Uploaded content material, nonetheless, could be as much as 60 minutes in size.
Like TikTok, Instagram additionally lets you share content material that disappears after 24 hours to your tales. You can even “go reside” on Instagram to work together with viewers in actual time.
YouTube
Like Instagram, YouTube launched its personal short-form part in 2021. YouTube Shorts are brief, vertically-oriented movies you watch in your cellphone, similar to TikTok.
At present, YouTube Shorts are restricted to three minutes in size. Moreover, YouTube’s content material guidelines are a lot stricter than different platforms. Shorts between one minute and three minutes in size are subjected to the identical Content material ID system as full-length YouTube movies — so you will wish to restrict or exclude any copyrighted content material.
Twitch
Twitch positively is not a one-to-one swap for TikTok, however it’s nonetheless value mentioning right here. Should you’re somebody who enjoys watching reside content material on-line, it is arduous to beat Twitch.
And positive, whereas most of Twitch’s content material is centered round gaming, there is a rising base of customers that present different content material. You can discover life-style, arts and crafts, cooking content material, and extra on Twitch.
Snapchat
Snapchat boasts 443 million energetic customers worldwide day by day, which suggests there’s hardly a scarcity of content material to observe on the platform. The truth is, the platform is so well-liked that TikTok and Instagram have each added within the 24-hour time restrict for his or her “Tales” options.
Nonetheless, Snapchat’s target market tends to skew youthful, with most customers falling between 18 and 24. This makes the platform considerably much less interesting to those that are older than the goal demographic.
Snapchat does have a TikTok or Reels-like function, dubbed “Snapchat Spotlights.” Nonetheless, in line with Snapchat’s phrases of service, the corporate is ending the rewards program that allowed customers to be paid income for highlight snaps that did particularly effectively. It will make it a far much less doubtless different as creators are unlikely to maneuver to platforms the place income is not assured.
The Highlight Rewards program will terminate on January 31, 2025.
Lemon8
Because it seems, even TikTok’s mum or dad firm, ByteDance, has a TikTok different. Lemon8 is not a one-to-one recreation of TikTok. As an alternative, it appears to take inspiration from TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Nonetheless, Lemon8 describes itself as being “powered by TikTok.” Due to this, and since it is owned by ByteDance, it leads us to consider it will doubtless change into the topic of a future ban, ought to it achieve sufficient recognition.
RedNote
It is value mentioning that there’s presently a mass exodus from TikTok to RedNote. RedNote is a social networking app that hails from China, the place it’s referred to as Xiaohongshu. RedNote was launched in China in 2013, and in line with Monetary Occasions, is value over $17 billion.
The app features someplace between Pinterest and TikTok, and many individuals consult with RedNote as a Chinese language model of Instagram. Like many social media platforms, RedNote focuses on short-form content material.
RedNote is primarily in Chinese language, so it isn’t the best to make use of for those who do not converse — or learn — Chinese language. Like Lemon8, one additionally wonders if RedNote would undergo the identical destiny as TikTok, ought to it come up as a viable different.
