TikTok's New "Post to View" Feature Is a Competitor to BeReal's Recent Popularity

When it first emerged as a major social media player, TikTok became the thing that every other social media platform wanted to copy. The innovative, video-first format became an instant sensation, and TikTok has been riding that success ever since. Now, though, TikTok is launching a new feature that's meant to ape another social media service, and some users are confused about it.

TikTok Now is a new feature inside of TikTok that allows users to take a photo or a 10-second video and share it with their friends. The feature is meant to mimic BeReal, which prompts users at random times throughout the day to share a photo of whatever it is they're doing. With TikTok Now, you can now do something very similar on TikTok.

The feature will prompt you to post once per day, with the idea being that it will allow you to connect more intimately with close friends and family. To use the new feature, you have to be at least 13 years old, or 14 if you live in South Korea or Indonesia.

As part of TikTok Now, some users may have noticed a message that tells them that their friends have posted, but they will have to post themselves in order to see what their friends are doing. Essentially, all "post to view" means is that the posts of other users are locked until you post something yourself. It's another element of TikTok Now that seems to be attempting to ape the intimacy of an app like BeReal.

If you're curious about TikTok Now and how to use it, the answer depends in part on where you're located. If you can see the "post to view" messages in your TikTok app, then it means that TikTok Now is already live. In some countries, though, you'll have to download TikTok Now separately if you want to participate yourself.

Thankfully, downloading TikTok Now is relatively straightforward. You just download it like any other app, and when you launch it, you can choose to either create a new account or log in to the account you already have on TikTok. If you'd like the two apps to share an account, just tap the "Start as" button when you log in. If you want to use another account, just tap "Other TikTok Accounts."

TikTok Now is clearly TikTok's attempt to keep BeReal from encroaching on its user base, even though the function of the apps is pretty different. BeReal is, by design, meant to be used with smaller groups of people and give those people an unvarnished look at how you're living your life.

TikTok, on the other hand, is almost an entertainment platform. The biggest stars on TikTok have hundreds of millions of followers, and those followers don't necessarily need the same kind of intimate look into the lives of the people they follow.