TikTok is testing its own version of Twitter’s retweet button that allows users to share videos on the platform with their mutuals.
Looks like TikTok has noted how many of its users share TikToks with their friends and decided to make the sharing process more seamless by incorporating it into the platform itself.
The new repost button can be found in the ‘Share’ menu where you could previously only send the video to friends through messages, texts or social media posts on Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter etc.
How the repost button works is, instead of sharing the video with friends directly, it will add the video to your friends’ TikTok ‘For You’ page.
The repost button only appears on videos on your own For You page as confirmed by TechCrunch. For example, if you find a video through the Discover page or shared in your TikTok inbox by a friend, you won’t see the repost button there.
Unlike a Twitter retweet, the reposted video will not show on your own TikTok profile. This means the video will only show up on your friends’ ‘For You’ feeds.
Users will only see re-shared videos from mutual friends so that minimises the risk of messing up your ‘For You’ page recommendations. So, it looks like the new feature is aimed at enhancing users’ experience on the platform than helping creators grow their audience.
So essentially, it boosts the visibility of the video you’ve already been recommended by the algorithm and it will now be served to people who have the same interests as you.
Currently, to re-share videos other people’s videos, you either need to create a stitch or duet with the original video. This new feature will make it easier for more passive users to re-share videos on the platform.
The feature is similar to the ‘Revine’ feature on the short-form video platform Vine, which was acquired by Twitter and shut down in 2016. Vine users could ‘Revine’ a video for increased visibility but the feature was diluted with creators resorting to ‘revine 4 revine’ where groups would promote each others’ content.
There is the risk of such reposts messing up TikTok’s eerily accurate algorithm that’s known for its highly personalized For You feed.
If you have access to the repost button, you’ll be able to see it when you share videos from your For You page. When you tap the ‘repost’ button, TikTok informs you that the video will only be visible to your friends. There’s also a prompt where you can share why you reposted the video.
These don’t appear as comments on the video but are flagged directly on the video itself above the creators’ name and video description. Here, you’ll see which friends have reposted the content and can tap the ‘reposted’ label to read their comments in a small, pop-up window, according to TechCrunch.
You can also use the ‘Remove Repost’ option if you change your mind about a video you reposted.
The repost button is currently in testing so only a number of people reportedly have them. Some TikTok users report seeing the repost button labelled as ‘Recommend’ so it looks like TikTok is still tweaking the feature.
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