The platform is currently testing a Discover tab to make it easier for users to, well, discover new engaging content. The Discover tap sits left of the upload button, where the Search function used to reside. See if you can spot the difference: The new Discover tab was spotted by serial leaker Jane Manchun Wong, who has previously uncovered yet-to-be-released features in popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It remains unclear if the Discover tab will be any different to the old Search function. “The prototype just shows ‘Network Error’ for now,” Wong told TNW.
TikTok is testing a lot of new things
A new Discover tab is hardly the only feature the Chinese social media giant has been toying around with recently. Wong notes TikTok is also experimenting with a dedicated WhatsApp shortlist of friends that lets you quickly send videos to individuals. To be fair, WhatsApp was already supported in TikTok’s sharing UI – the new implementation merely acts as a shortcut.
And while Instagram is busy hiding engagement metrics from users, TikTok is testing a new icons that show the number of times videos have been downloaded and liked. Wong also unearthed another new addition which makes it possible to link your TikTok profile to your Google and Facebook accounts. Here’s how this looks:
Judging by the screenshot, the linking feature will make it possible to sign in to your TikTok account with your Facebook and Google profiles. This should make it even easier for the Chinese app to onboard new users. To make it easier to manage multiple accounts, the company is also trialing an account switcher – similar to the one in Instagram.
TikTok is killing it
TikTok has swiftly climbed its way to the top of the social media rankings with its unorthodox trends, which included teens eating their own fingers to old Evanescence jams, high-schoolers trolling teachers, and a whole bunch of other bizarre challenges. Indeed, TikTok skyrocketed in popularity at the end of 2017, quickly overtaking social media competitors like Reddit and Twitter by 2018.
