SINGAPORE/BEIJING: Video-sharing platform TikTok may launch a group messaging function this year, individuals with expertise of the conversations told Reuters, placing the Chinese-owned app in a lot more direct competitors with social media competitors such as Facebook.

Group messaging becomes part of owner ByteDance’s plan to create TikTok into more of a “social interactions app”, one of the sources claimed. The feature has been part of the Chinese variation of TikTok, Douyin, because 2019.

The resources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak with the media.

A team chat function would certainly help TikTok maintain users on the application much longer. TikTok, which is specifically popular with teenagers as well as young adults, has also been increasing its livestreaming and ecommerce offerings and group chats would certainly enable influencers to much more quickly connect with fans.

TikTok did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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ByteDance had inner discussions in 2015 concerning presenting the team conversation attribute however put many updates on hold after the application came under attack from the Trump management as well as was banned in India, a second individual claimed.

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It is currently evaluating when as well as where it will introduce group chats on TikTok, the sources said.

United States Head of state Joe Biden’s brand-new administration has actually stopped briefly a government claim that might have led to a de facto ban on the application’s usage in the USA and also company enrollers have actually raced back to the service.

The White House also stated last month it has actually taken no new “proactive action” related to the Trump management’s plan for TikTok’s American operations to be acquired by US financiers.

The Trump management had actually contended that TikTok positions national security problems as the personal data of US users could be obtained by China’s government. TikTok, which has more than 100 million individuals in the United States, has refuted the allegation.

The team chat messaging solution is likely to be unencrypted, one of the sources said.

Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert who gets on Tiktok’s United States advisory council, said he had actually not been notified regarding team talks being introduced in the USA, yet added the platform would require to be ready to manage risks that would include broadening right into social messaging.

” If you are a site that is the size of a TikTok or a Facebook, even if it’s not secured, you still have to stress over exactly how am I mosting likely to regulate this product as well as manage the damages.”