TikTok starts testing in-app mini-games

Source:TikTok

TikTok has quietly added a small collection of mini-games into its app. There are nine games available during this testing period. Of course, you can record gameplay for these titles and share these videos on TikTok. You can just add the game on its own through the "Add link" option and selecting "MiniGame" This will allow your viewers to play a linked game by tapping the link. They can still watch videos while they play. The test is running in the US, but it's also been spotted in the UK version of the app. 

Third-party gaming studios developed the games for the platform, including Vodoo, Nitro Games, FRVR, Aim Lab, and Lotum. But ByteDance also bought a game studio, the Shanghai-based Moonton Technology, last year. This pilot test comes after a Reuters report says TikTok plans to make a "major push" into gaming. It is looking for ways to keep people in its app and increase its advertising revenue, and gaming is one of those methods. None of the current games available don't have ads or in-app purchases for now. But we wouldn't be surprised if it gets that in the future.

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TikTok wants to help you limit your screen time

Source: TikTok

TikTok is an endless pit of short-form videos. If you want some help to keep yourself off the app, it will launch a new tool to offer daily limit reminders. Teenage users (between the ages of 13 and 17) will be promoted to use this screen time limiting tool if they spend over 100 minutes in the app on a single day. 

The app will also get a Digital Wellbeing-like dashboard that shows the summary of your usage. If you use Instagram, it has a similar tool. The statistics you're shown include the amount of time the app has been opened, a breakdown of your daytime and nighttime use, and an overall counter for the amount of time you spend on the app daily.

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TikTok starts testing in-app minigames

After entering a partnership with Zynga last year, TikTok is finally starting to test out minigames in its app. The test is reportedly being done in Vietnam. It will let users play within the app as part of its reported "major push" to get into gaming. It wants to release ad-supported games from TikTok parent company ByteDance's library to boost both revenue and engagement.

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TikTok tests a 'dislike' button in the comments

Source: @iniyaspip/Twitter

But it's trying out a different approach to it. The dislike option in the comments won't have a counter of how many dislikes it got. Instead, the user who "registered a dislike" will see that they have done so. TikTok's goal for this feature is to help users "feel more control" over what they're seeing. The company wants to use this community feedback to add to the factors it considers for keeping the comment section "consistently relevant and a place for genuine engagement."

Some users who are part of the test have been sharing screenshots online, showing the thumbs down button beside the heart in the comments section. They didn't want to make the number visible to "avoid creating ill-feeling between community members or demoralize creators." We aren't entirely sure how this will help out creators or improve the commenting feature on the platform. But it is still being tested, so how it's used or handled will evolve depending on whether TikTok will do a wider, official release.

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