Creating an App Like TikTok is Simple

TikTok has grown in the eyes of today’s Internet users, surpassing even Instagram in popularity. The reasons for the service’s overwhelming popularity lie in its simplicity and demand among its target audience — children from 10 to 17 years old. However, the popularity of the TikTok social network remains a mystery to many. If we take apart all the reasons that led to the popularity of this application, the secret will be revealed.

Easy-to-Understand Content

The app development of TikTok has come up with a genuinely innovative formula for the content that fills the app. Time-limited clips encourage users to create dynamic and engaging videos. The focus of the video could be anything:

• a TikToker sings along to the backing track of a song he likes;
• challenges: Challenging trends are constantly shifting; 
• sketch-humorous miniatures, pranks, jokes, or deliberately ridiculous dances;
• duet (joined videos with a split screen in which TikTokers react to each other’s actions);
• a “how-to” — examples of makeup, hairstyles, and other common-sense advice.

Many of the videos on the platform are unencumbered by meaning and are static face shots or uncomplicated dances. However, among such empty TikToks, quality videos take time and effort to shoot. Therefore, it is impossible to name precisely a TikTok app development cost. 

All the Functions of the TikTok App

All TikTok features include creating and searching for clips, adding effects, changing appearances with masks, broadcasting with friends, recording duets, the ability to overlay music, and transferring links to other social networks. In addition, you can download videos to your phone, choose the cover art for the clip, apply color filters, set a timer, and use other features. First, let’s look at the primary and hidden TikTok options below.

App development: Basic Options in TikTok

Before you add your first video:

1. Deal with the central question: using TikTok on your computer or phone.
2. Study all the functions.
3. Immediately note that the social network functionality on the PC/laptop when logging in through the site is limited.

Here you can only view the profile, watch videos or live broadcasts, change some settings, send personal messages, and read them. You can also download videos to add to your profile, but you can’t shoot them.

For example, let’s look at the current and new features available on mobile devices. It is because many people use TikTok on their smartphones.

The main options for TikTok are:

1. Clip Search. Clicking on the “Interesting” key in TikTok takes the user to a list of the best clips. Here you can search for content by typing in different hashtags.
2. Hearts/subscriptions. Even without creating your video, you can watch the videos of other users, give them likes, and subscribe to the authors of the best content. It allows you to increase the number of available and interesting videos in your profile.
3. Adding videos. The primary function of TikTok is related to adding your content. And here, a lot of possibilities are available: changing the speed (slowing down or speeding up); setting the duration of the video (15 sec, 60 sec, 3 min); adding effects; using the timer and improving the function; adding a filter. Here you can also change the speed and rotate the picture on the screen.
4. Messages. The TikTok feature allows you to send emails to other users. Depending on the settings, this is possible concerning friends or all subscribers. You just need to find the person on the list and send him a text message.
5. Share. A helpful feature in TikTok is sharing a video with another person. To do this while watching a video, just click on the arrow at the bottom right select where to send the file. There are a lot of social networks and ways of transferring data to choose from.
6. Profile customization. TikTok users can use a variety of features related to profile privacy.
7. Earnings. The social network allows its users to earn money. You can perform this by conducting broadcasts and receiving gifts, advertising some products, etc. There is an option called “Wallet” to control finances in the settings.
8. Recording duets. TikTok users can add other users to broadcasts and record videos together.
9. Downloading clips. A valuable feature of the social network is downloading videos to your device if the author does not limit this option. To do this, just click on the video, hold your finger until the menu appears, and then click on the “Save Video” button.

The functions of TikTok are virtually unlimited. Here you can apply color filters, change the appearance using masks, share content, etc. In addition, you can use additional programs to expand the features.

TikTok Options That are Hidden

Many users are interested in using TikTok on the phone and its hidden functions. In principle, there is nothing secret about such options. But many users, for some reason, do not know anything about them. Let’s consider some functions that will be useful to the authors of the social network and which appeared there in the course of app development:

1. Try piecing. One of the valuable features is stitching content while shooting a video. To do this, you need to press the record key while shooting to pause and then press it again when you’re ready.
2. Add a photo to the background. It is a useful hidden trick that not everyone uses. To use it, click on “Effects” when creating a video. Select any photo from the gallery on your smartphone as a background.
3. Change your voice. TikTok lets you change your voice in eight different ways. You can select baritone, squirrel, vibrate, echo, microphone, giant, and others. To do this, you must choose the “Sound Effects” feature after you finish shooting.
4. Business account. Alternatively, you can enable a business account under the “Account Management” settings. It opens up many additional options, including adding a website address with a clickable link in your profile.
5. Questions and Answers. The Q & A feature in TikTok allows users to leave questions in the video so that the author can give a detailed answer to the user’s query.

It is just a tiny part of the hidden features in TikTok that will be useful when creating content. 

Nuances in App Development

App development with a TikTok clone doesn’t require you to come up with something new. It is enough to take advantage of the application’s main features, so you can upgrade them according to your wishes (focus, target audience, location). And it would be best if you started by studying the market’s needs.

To understand the basic features with which you can attract the attention of a younger audience to the project and win the success of users, let’s look at popular analogs of the application.

1. Likee is one of the many clones of the program that managed to win a considerable number of fans. A large part of the audience was children. Here you can make videos, insert various special effects, or edit the material. A significant advantage is a function of “augmented reality.” Users constantly participate in challenges, record videos, and post them to their accounts. You can take a lot from there during app development. 
2. Kwai is a popular Asian service, and it has the features to shoot and publish videos. Users highlight a large selection of filters, features, and design options. 
3. Vigo Video is almost an exact copy of TikTok. You can record videos, make slideshows, and much more with it. 
4. Quik-suitable for GoPro fans. Clips can be imported and diluted with special effects and music. You can take notes during the app development process. 
5. Zynn is another TikTok clone. But its users get paid for watching videos and bringing friends. This app launched last spring and a month later has managed to win the attention of a considerable number of people, becoming the most popular app in the United States. Some analysts predict that the program has a chance of surpassing TikTok and becoming the most popular on the market.

Some of the apps mentioned above are capable of competing with TikTok. The last item on the list is incredibly encouraging. It is possible to bet on a specific country. In addition, filters and special effects can contain specific ethnic motifs.

TikTok has become one of the most popular social networks. It’s easy enough to develop apps with this kind of functionality. The main thing is to turn to true professionals in their business. After app development, you will have another task — the promotion of the project. But this is a topic for a separate article.