TikTok is discontinuing TikTok Now, an in-app feature and standalone app that mimics BeReal.
BeReal invites users to take a front and back camera photo at a random time every day, designed to capture a more authentic picture of what our friends are doing. The app exploded in popularity last spring, so along with Snapchat and Instagram, TikTok seemed determined to capitalize on the trends that BeReal established.
TikTok heavily emphasized its Now feature, making it one of just five buttons on the app’s bottom navigation bar. Yet it seems that TikTok Now didn’t catch on, since the product is now being phased out.
“We’re updating the TikTok experience and are discontinuing TikTok Now,” a notification from TikTok reads. Users can see their previous Now posts by navigating to Profile > Private Tab > Now Memories, but they won’t be able to create any new Now posts.
This decision could nod to a decline in interest for BeReal-style app experiences. The app has only shared its daily active user (DAU) numbers one time this April, when it said it had 20 million DAUs. Our sources had told us last fall that BeReal had 20 million DAUs, which would imply a stagnation in growth over the following months. But according to BeReal, previous reports of the app’s DAUs were inaccurate, and growth has remained steady (BeReal declined to speak to any press on the record until this April).
An app research firm, Sensor Tower told TechCrunch in October that the app hit 53 million downloads across iOS and Android, marking a 2,254% increase in monthly active users — but only 9% of users opened the app every day. Over the last few months, BeReal has rolled out some of the most major changes in its history, like Bonus BeReal and an in-app chat feature. Over time, we’ll see if the closure of TikTok Now is a harbinger of doom for BeReal itself.
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