TikTok facts you probably didn’t know

Your social media feed is probably full of TikTok videos by now. The video-sharing app has taken the online world by storm, enabling users to record goofy and fun short-form videos. It taps the audience from all walks of life, and even attracts users from Gen Z to baby boomers. Many barely know the app, so out of curiosity, we decided to look for fun facts that are worth sharing. 

Here’s what we found out: 

TikTok is not available in China

You’ve read it right. This has something to do with China’s 2017 national intelligence law which requires local companies to surrender data to the government when asked to. Although it has established Chinese roots, Tiktok’s parent company ByteDance assures that confidential information, such as user data, is not being sent to China. 

Source: New York Times, Bloomberg 

TikTok is directly related to musical.ly 

If you ever find some similarities between TikTok and musical.ly, it’s probably because the parent company of the former acquired the latter two years ago. To effectively penetrate the global market, Chinese tech company ByteDance combined the features of the two mobile apps and rebranded it as TikTok.

Source: The Verge 

Its Chinese counterpart is Douyin

TikTok should not be confused with its Chinese version Douyin. Literally means “shaking sound” in Chinese, Douyin has the same features as its international sibling. However, content here is more regulated since it uses a different server. 

Source: What’s On Weibo

The TikTok app needs more storage space on iOS than Android devices

Upon checking both app stores, the iOS version has a bigger space of 409.1 MB compared to its Android counterpart which only has 60 MB. 

Source: Google Play, App Store 

TikTok uses AI to personalize content feed

Just like other mobile apps, it utilizes artificial intelligence on its algorithm. TikTok’s mother parent, ByteDance, process big amount of data for understanding user behavior. Tagging and understanding content to be processed on a user’s feed is powered by image and object recognition. This breaks the language barrier across its users in recommending and sending videos to their feed.  

Sources: Tech in Asia, Medium

TikTok data is stored outside of China, but its privacy policy has reserved the right to share any information with Chinese authorities.

This is in relation to the Chinese government’s policy we mentioned a while ago above. The US government prohibits its naval and army forces, as well as the entire federal employees from using and downloading the app. Following the US, Australia’s Defence Force also ban the app on all government-issued devices. 

Source: Reuters, The Verge, The Washington Post, ABC News

Tiktok Lite exists

There’s a lighter version of TikTok tailored for Android smartphones with lower memory. TikTok Lite optimizes the performance of the app on the device, taking only 19 MB from your device’s internal storage. 

Source: Google PlayStore

Some users die while making TikTok videos

According to TikTokDeath, at least 48 users passed away and 21 was injured while making TikTok videos as of April 1, 2020. The website even presents the exact date, source of news, type of video, and country of the users.

Source: TikTokDeath

There you have it! Did we miss other fun facts? Do let us know in the comments below.