This was a response to research into the effects of the app on the mental wellbeing and brain development of the users. The screen time management feature encouraged “digital wellbeing” by allowing users to put time limits on their daily usage. This campaign was introduced in April 2019 and encouraged users to take breaks from continuously looking at the screen. TikTok has a time management feature.īefore the “You’re in Control” campaign was uploaded to TikTok, there was an earlier attempt in reducing screen time. However, on June 29, 2020, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology blocked usage of the app in India. That’s more than the total number of downloads in the US, with 200 million downloads as of 2021. TikTok is banned in India.Īs of 2020, TikTok had been downloaded a total of over 611 million times in India, which was around 30% of total global downloads. The campaign worked alongside TikTok celebrities to encourage users to drink water or get food, as sometimes you can get so lost on the app you forget to take care of yourself. In an attempt to prompt users, TikTok created advertisements to remind users to take a break from the app. In 2019 as part of TikTok’s “You’re in Control” content series, campaigners were designed to help users. In 2019 TikTok introduced advertisements encouraging users to take breaks from the app. TikTok is a globally available app, except for in China where it has remained a separate version called Douyin. The merge happened on August 2, 2018, bringing TikTok users and Musical.ly accounts together to form one community. TikTok hoped to take over the market and attract younger users. On November 9, 2017, Chinese company Bytedance, TikTok’s founder purchased Musical.ly for $1 billion USD. However, this changed to TikTok when the two merged in 2017. Musical.ly was launched in 2014 with users uploading short videos of themselves lip-syncing and being comedic.

It attracts a younger audience because of the nature of content creation it is a form of self-expression. In 2019 a survey showed that 41% of users were between 16-24 years old, and it is no surprise given the point of the app. The app allows users to express themselves through lip-syncing, acting, dancing, and singing. TikTok was designed with a younger demographic in mind. Around 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16-24. They called the app “Douyin” and then launched it to the western market in 2017 as TikTok.ĭouyin is exactly the same app as TikTok however, in China, it attracts a slightly older demographic, with users ranging from children to middle-aged adults. The original app of TikTok was launched in 2016 and created by Bytedance in China. TikTok had 656 million downloads during 2021, with Instagram being second place at 545 million downloads. The growth in downloads was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic as many people spent time indoors with their smartphones.

This made it the most the app has ever achieved to date in one month. TikTok was downloaded almost 115 million times in March 2020 alone. TikTok was the most downloaded app globally in 20.

The app inspires people to record themselves singing and dancing to then share with friends and the world.īut where did this app suddenly spring up from and why has it become so popular? TikTok is known for its content uploaded by singers, actors, and dancers.

Tik tok app