In a letter released to SocialMediaToday by TikTok, the company stated that “we’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. Currently, we’re experimenting with ways to give creators tools to express themselves on TikTok.”
Video Avatar tools
The first one is a video avatar tool that is similar to Apple Memoji. It allows users to take a selfie and turn it into a digital avatar. Users first should choose a face template, and then it changes based on facial expressions. “The feature lets you use your phone’s camera to take a selfie with a fun facial expression which your avatar will match,” Navarra noted. Navarra didn’t mention any more details about how video avatar tools in TikTok work. This could be a core feature for TikTok, and in the coming months, we will hear more about that.
Group Chat shareable link invite
The next feature in the development queue is Group Chat shareable link invite. This way, users can start a Group Chat and create a sharable link. Then, anyone can join the meeting with the link. The feature is spotted in codes. A sharable link would make it easier for TikTok users to invite a third party to their meeting. Currently, adding new people to Group Chats in TikTok is possible by manually sending the video to them or selecting people in the inbox and then starting the chat.
Keyword filtering
No one likes to see unpleasant content in their feed. TikTok is developing a new feature that allows users to filter specific words. If the video description or the stickers contain the filtered word, it doesn’t show up in the For You page or Following feeds. However, advertisements with those words may still appear in your feed. Anyway, this is a good way to battle harassment and reduce unpleasant content within the platform. TikTok has recently added new options to make its platform safer, including anti-bullying tools and automatic removal of videos against its policies.
Audio-only live streams
The Clubhouse has become a development model for many social platforms, and most platforms try to offer similar capabilities. Twitter Space is one of the most famous clones of Clubhouse. However, TikTok is also working on audio-only live streams. This way, users can join live streams with their voices only.
Screen sharing in live streams
Screen sharing is an essential and useful feature for collaboration, and we mostly see it in business video chat apps like Zoom or Skype. But TikTok is developing a similar feature that allows users to share their on-screen activities with other participants. As the screenshot says, “screen sharing allows viewers to see what’s on your screen in real time, including camera, audio, notification, and other alerts.”
