TikTok Introduces Text-Only Posts to Compete with Twitter

TikTok Joins the Text-Only Posts Trend

TikTok Monday introduced text-only posts, becoming the latest tech giant to offer an alternative to embattled Twitter.

Similarities with Instagram’s Threads

The text posts on TikTok will most closely resemble similar offerings on Instagram, which earlier this month also launched a challenge to Twitter – which owner Elon Musk renamed X – called Threads.

TikTok’s Size Advantage

Like Meta-owned Threads, TikTok benefits from its size, with around 1.4 billion monthly active users, according to specialist site Business of Apps.

Integration into the TikTok App

But unlike Facebook’s parent company, it has chosen to integrate its new text-only feature into its app rather than launch a separate product, as Meta did with Threads.

Enhanced Visual Experience

TikTok’s version will remain more visual than a Twitter or Threads post, with users able to add a color background, music, and stickers to the post.

Expanding Content Creation Boundaries

The Chinese-owned company said the new format will expand the “boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok” and tap into the “creativity” seen in comments and captions, the company said.

Potential Rivals to Twitter

Besides Threads, smaller platforms such as Mastodon, Bluesky, and Substack Notes have emerged as potential rivals to Twitter, but none have so far dethroned it despite its troubles.

Opportunity for Challengers

Musk last week said Twitter has lost roughly half of its advertising revenue, leaving an opportunity for the challengers.