TikTok's Instagram Competitor Notes Gets Limited Launch For Some Users

A little over a week after TikTok announced that it intends to release a new photo-sharing app called TikTok Notes, the company has begun the process of rolling out the app for users in select countries. TikTok confirmed the development in a series of posts made by the company's official communications account on X (formerly known as Twitter).

As of April 17, 2024, the TikTok Notes app is only available for download for select users in Australia and Canada. Additionally, the post on X reiterates that TikTok Notes is a "dedicated space" for sharing text and photo content, implying that the app is separate from the main TikTok app. TikTok has yet to announce when it intends to make the app available for users in the U.S.

/1 We're in the early stages of experimenting with a dedicated space for photo and text content with TikTok Notes. Starting today, TikTok Notes is available for download and limited testing in Australia and Canada.

— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) April 17, 2024

Along with the announcement, TikTok has already made the new Notes app available for download via the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store—although only users from Australia and Canada can download and install it as of now. These app store listings also include screenshots of the UI that TikTok Notes users will see once they download and install the app on their smartphones.

While TikTok and Instagram had a completely different target audience in the initial days of their life, these apps have been at loggerheads for the past several years — especially after Instagram "encroached" into TikTok's domain of short videos with Instagram Reels. While there is no denying that Reels has been a major success, the fact remains that Instagram started as a photo-sharing platform. With Notes, it seems TikTok wants to give Instagram (and Meta) a taste of its own medicine by making its presence felt in the still popular photo-sharing domain.

Thanks to the screenshots uploaded by TikTok, we have a fair idea of what TikTok Notes UI looks like. One major feature that Notes offers over Instagram is the ability to create headlines for images. 

TikTok/X

The grid layout of the photos also looks markedly different from what you have been used to seeing on Instagram. TikTok also seems to have taken inspiration from X and offers users separate sections for viewing TikTok 'Notes' from people they follow, as well as a separate "For You" tab that recommends people you may be interested in following.

Incidentally, the news of TikTok Notes making its partial debut comes on the same day Elon Musk hinted at the possible return of Vine. This popular short video-sharing app predates TikTok and Instagram Reels.