The 24-hour Stories format is one of the more popular ways to share content with friends or followers on various social media platforms. Well, except for Twitter which recently abolished its short-lived Fleets feature due to the lack of engagement by its user base. Now jumping onboard the Stories bandwagon is none other than ByteDance’s TikTok – a platform that has seen its share of cloned features by various competitors that have taken inspiration from its short-form video sharing format.
TikTok’s new Stories feature, which was first reported by Amanz founder Aman Firdauz, is shown to feature the same non-permanent content sharing format that disappears after 24-hours being posted on the platform. However, unlike its competitors, this version does not support still images or gifs, and must be shared in video format.
Originally rolled out to the platform unannounced, it wasn’t until the Stories feature was reported by social media consultant Matt Navarra that TikTok finally acknowledged this new addition. “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” stated a spokesperson for the company to Engadget. “Currently we’re experimenting with ways to give creators additional formats to bring their creative ideas to life for the TikTok community.”
It’s also worth noting that not all TikTok users have received the new feature just yet. Seeing that it is still within testing phases, it is unsurprising that Stories will only be rolled out to a selected few across the globe. The company has yet to confirm when it intends to officially launch it as a public release.
Introducing TikTok Stories ✨🔥
Plot twist!
h/t @amanfirdaus pic.twitter.com/gvQMzixYtS
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) August 4, 2021
For those who are not keeping count, the Stories feature and format was first made popular by rival platform Snapchat all the way back in 2013. Ever since its debut, the 24 hour-only content sharing feature has been widely introduced on other social medias such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube – all of which have also cloned several of TikTok’s features later on.
(Source: Amanz / Matt Navarra | Header image: Pexels)
