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With the United States Supreme Court’s ruling on the TikTok ban just days away, millions of users worldwide are turning to other short-form video-sharing apps. To give you a quick recap, the US court has given TikTok’s parent company ByteDance until January 19 to divest its operations in the country or face a ban.
While there is no app that can effectively replace TikTok right now, there are a plethora of apps that offer a similar experience. If you enjoy doom scrolling through endless vertical short-form videos, here are some of the best TikTok alternatives you can explore right now.
Instagram launched Reels in 2020. (Image Source: Instagram)
Instagram Reels
Launched in 2020, Instagram Reels is hands down the best TikTok alternative right now. One of the main reasons behind its popularity is that several if not most TikTok creators also share their content on Instagram.
While Instagram’s algorithm may not be on par with TikTok’s, in the last few years, the Meta-owned platform has definitely improved its Reels recommendation algorithm. If TikTok does end up getting banned in the United States, chances are that Instagram Rels will emerge as the most popular short-form video app in the country.
REDNote resembles TikTok in many ways. (Image Source: Google Play Store)
REDNote
Just days before the US Supreme Court’s decision on TikTok, another Chinese video-sharing app that resembles the ByteDance-owned app has seen a massive increase in downloads and sign-ups. REDNote, also known as Xiaohongshu in China is a free-to-use app that is available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
According to TechCrunch, REDNote has already secured the number one spot on the Apple App Store, with most of the downloads coming from the United States . However, one thing to note is that while the app is already available in several markets, most of the UI elements are in Mandarin, and the majority of content creators on the platform are based out of China.
While we were unable to log in to REDNote for reasons unknown, users have to select areas of their interest before they see content on their feed. Like TikTok, users can also leave comments, share videos and even download them for offline viewing.
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Lemon8 is also owned by ByteDance, the same company that owns TikTok. (Image Source: Google Play Store)
Lemon8
Developed by ByteDance, the company that operates TikTok, Lemon8 is a sort of TikTok clone. In the United States, the app recently secured the top spot in the Apple App Store’s “Lifestyle” category.
If we go by Lemon8’s description on the Google Play Store, the app developers say that it is “a lifestyle community focused app powered by TikTok”, meaning it could also be subjected to the same ban as TikTok.
However, unlike TikTok, Lemon8 categorizes videos into different topics like tech, beauty, fashion and others. While the app currently has more than 10 million downloads, it could blow up if the US Supreme Court decides to bring down its hammer on TikTok.
YouTube Shorts may not be as engaging as TikTok. (Image Source: YouTube)
YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts has been around for quite some time now, but Google’s short-form video-sharing platform hasn’t had the same success as TikTok.
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If TikTok does get banned, YouTube Shorts has a decent chance of becoming the most used service for consuming short-form videos as YouTube is already the most used online platform in the United States.
However, the content posted on YouTube Shorts doesn’t seem to generate as much engagement as TikTok, and some of the videos are reposted by creators from their long YouTube videos.
The problem with Snapchat Spotlight is that it is geared towards younger audience. (Image Source: Snapchat)
Snapchat Spotlight
Do you use TikTok to watch entertaining short-form content? If your answer is yes, Snapchat’s Spotlight feed might be a viable alternative after the TikTok ban comes into effect.
However, unlike Instagram Reels and TikTok, Snapchat Spotlight only shows entertaining and lighthearted videos, which may be a plus for those who do not want to see political or news content.
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Another thing to note is that Snapchat’s short-form video feature mainly caters to younger audiences, meaning adults may not find it as engaging as TikTok.
