TikTok launches Twitter rival with new text posts

Move comes on same day Elon Musk rebrands Twitter social network as X

TikTok has joined social media competition to unseat Twitter as the leader in text-only posting. Reuters

TikTok, the social platform known for its addictive video content, said on Monday that it will offer text-only posts, becoming the latest tech giant to offer an alternative to embattled Twitter.

“Today we're thrilled to announce the expansion of text posts on TikTok, a new format for creating text-based content that broadens options for creators to share their ideas and express their creativity,” the Chinese-owned company said.

“With text posts, we're expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we've seen in comments, captions and videos a dedicated space to shine.”

The text posts on TikTok will most closely resemble similar offerings on Instagram, which this month also launched a challenge to Twitter – since renamed X by owner Elon Musk – called Threads.

Like Meta-owned Threads, TikTok benefits from its size, with around 1.4 billion monthly active users, according to specialist site Business of Apps.

But unlike Facebook's parent company, TikTok has chosen to integrate its new text-only feature into its app rather than launch a separate product, as Meta did with Threads.

TikTok's version will remain more visual than a Twitter or Threads post, with users able to add a colour background, music and stickers to the post, AFP reports.

In addition to Threads, smaller platforms such as Mastodon, Bluesky and Substack Notes have emerged as rivals to Twitter, but none have so far dethroned it despite its troubles.

Mr Musk last week said Twitter has lost about half of its advertising revenue, leaving an opportunity for the challengers.