Are They Asleep or Just Faking? TikTok’s FaceTime Challenge Reveals the Truth

Another day, another TikTok trend that we’re all slightly obsessed with. This time, the trend brings another app into the game: the video call software we all know as FaceTime. Chances are you’re pretty familiar with FaceTime, especially if you’re in a relationship and you call one another on Facetime every night.

Of course, late-night FaceTime calls usually lead to one person falling asleep before the other. That’s exactly what the FaceTime Challenge on TikTok is all about. In order to complete the challenge, all you need is someone to talk to via FaceTime — the sleepier the better!

Basically, the FaceTime Challenge is a prank you can pull on your friend or significant other the next time they fall asleep while you’re FaceTiming. As soon as you see them drift off to dreamland, play the FaceTime “end call” sound and see how they react (obviously, make sure to have your phone handy to film their reaction, too). 

If you search the #facetimechallenge tag on TikTok, you can see the many different reactions people have caught when participating in this prank. In pretty much every case, something amazing happens: The sleeping person wakes up almost instantly after hearing the telltale hang-up sound. 

Some people are clearly miffed that their partner or friend would hang up on them (even if they were completely asleep and basically unresponsive). Others are simply surprised and bummed that the conversation is over (even if no one had said anything for a few minutes). Still others make us wonder whether they were actually sleeping, or if they were just pretending to sleep in order to end the call. Which brings us to a variation on the challenge...

If you can’t get your partner or friend to fall asleep on a call, you can still participate in this TikTok trend — all you need are some acting chops! Rather than waiting for them to fall asleep, you can pretend to do so yourself while recording what they do after you’ve “drifted off.”

This twist on the challenge has resulted in some of the cutest videos ever, featuring boyfriends looking at their sleepy girlfriends lovingly or trying to surreptitiously wake them back up from their (fake) slumber.

And then there are people who simply want to watch the world burn. Some videos with the #facetimechallenge tag aren’t about drifting off to sleep at all — they’re a bit more mean-spirited. Another twist on the trend is for people to record a fake FaceTime conversation that you’re supposed to play out loud in front of your partner while recording their reaction.

Most of the videos in this version of the prank are designed to make your partner think you’ve gotten up to questionable activities. With that in mind, we do not recommend doing this particular FaceTime Challenge unless you’re completely sure your partner will have a good reaction. Good luck!