TikTok Now: BeReal-style feature prompts copycat claims

This BeReally familiar: TikTok Now is billed as a "new way to connect" but people are pointing out the idea isn't completely original

TikTok users have noticed a new feature promising "a whole new creative experience" - but they've been quick to question how new it really is.

The addition, called TikTok Now, released in the UK this week, asks users to take a photo or video from their phone's front and back cameras at a random time of day.

TikTok has encouraged people to "share their most authentic moments".

But many have pointed out that it looks pretty similar to BeReal.

That app, seen as an alternative to the filtered and curated feeds often associated with social media, has grown rapidly since it was launched by a small French company.

It's currently ninth in Apple's overall UK App Store downloads chart, compared with TikTok's 14th place.

But it has got some catching up to do, with some reports putting its total downloads at about 27 million against TikTok's estimated three billion.

Same but different

There are some subtle differences between TikTok's offering and BeReal's.

Both will send users a notification at a random time of day, after which they'll have a limited time to snap a photo. TikTok Now also allows for 10-second videos.

BeReal prompts you with the message "It's time to BeReal", whereas TikTok has settled on "It's Time to Now" for its daily countdown launch.

As for sharing your posts, BeReal is restricted by design - photos are only meant to be seen by a small circle of close friends, in line with the app's low-key attitude.

TikTok Now offers users the ability to share their posts with the wider world, although it will be limited to friends by default.

And younger users will have automatic restrictions placed on their posts.

'Ferociously fast'

Following TikTok's announcement earlier this year, people were quick to point out that the concept behind TikTok Now looked very familiar.

Others were more direct, accusing it of "blatantly copying" its smaller competitor.

Tech experts leapt on the fact that Instagram had been beaten to the launch, after the company confirmed last month that it was testing Candid Challenges, its own BeReal-style feature.

And industry analyst Matt Navarra said the announcement by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, was "shameless and ferociously fast".

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TikTok Now and forever?

Social media companies have a track record of "borrowing" ideas from each other - with varying degrees of success.

Some features we take for granted - Twitter's "Like" button, Instagram's Stories and the trend for short, vertical videos - have either inspired imitators or been copied from elsewhere.

For example, Instagram recently rolled back an unpopular TikTok-style revamp that filled people's feeds with videos.

Even celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner weighed in, accusing the app of trying to imitate its rival and urging it to "make Instagram Instagram again".

And you might remember Fleets - Twitter's ill-fated attempt to introduce disappearing tweets similar to Instagram's Stories features.

Or you might not. After a backlash, the company quietly retired the feature after just a few months, saying it hadn't "seen an increase in the number of new people joining the conversation with Fleets like we hoped".

As for TikTok Now, users in the USA got it first, with the button for the feature replacing the current Friends tab. There are plans to release it as a separate app in some countries.

It remains to be seen whether it will stick around long-term or vanish more quickly than a Vine video.

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