TikTok is testing its own version of the Twitter retweet with the addition of a new “Repost” button that will allow users to amplify videos on the platform by sharing them with their own followers. The new Repost button is in the Share menu, where you could otherwise send the video to friends elsewhere through messages, texts, or social media posts. Apart from the fact that the video will not be shared directly with friends, the video will be promoted to your friends on TikTok using the Repost button.
But unlike a Twitter retweet, the newly posted video won’t appear on your own TikTok profile – it just sends the video to your friends’ For You feeds.
The button isn’t available across TikTok either.
For example, if you find a video from a friend’s share from the Discover page or in your TikTok inbox, you won’t see the Repost button there. It only shows up in videos you come across when browsing your own For You feed on the app, as we’ve confirmed. In other words, it’s a way to increase the visibility of videos that have already been algorithmically recommended to you that you want more people to see now. However, to achieve this, users no longer need to create their own video – either by stitching or dueting with the original content, so today users are re-sharing other users’ videos. This provides a low-friction way for users to interact with and re-share TikTok videos and could encourage more passive users to participate in the platform.
Credit: TikTok screenshot
The function also goes back to a TikTok forerunner: the short-form video platform Vine, which was taken over by Twitter and closed years ago.
Vine also once offered a repost button (or, in this case, a “Revine” feature) that would allow users to repost a video for added visibility. But Vines Button was received mixed up by some creators would abuse the function by offering “revine 4 revine” – that is, groups promoting the content of others by agreeing to “revine” the videos of all group members. Instagram also faces a similar problem where groups of Instagram users have agreed to systematically exchange likes and comments in order to play out the algorithms of the service. TikTok, which is known for its incredibly accurate, highly personalized For You feed, would apparently run the risk of watering down its recommendations with “reposts” if the developers also tried to play the algorithm via the new Repost button.
But TikTok’s is trying to address this problem by setting up its repost button differently than the “Revine” button – at least for now. Users will only see re-sharing recommendations if they are friends with the person who re-posted the video. This means you won’t necessarily see recommendations from a major creator unless that creator also follows you for some reason. By limiting recommendations to mutuals, TikTok combats the risk that would arise from collaboration among creators. But it also limits the potential of newly posted content to receive a significant number of new views – for example, if it has been re-shared by a popular creator.
Credit: TikTok screenshot
TikTok confirms that the button will be tested with a small number of users for the time being in the publicly available version of its app. However, it has already attracted many Attention on twitter as users posted screenshots of the new feature. Some people seem to think this is a new feature that anyone can access, but it isn’t yet, we understand.
“We are constantly thinking about new ways to add value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. We’re currently experimenting with a new way for people to share TikTok videos they like, ”a TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch after clarifying the functionality of the feature.
If you have access to the Repost button, you can use it while browsing your For You feed. When you tap the button on a video that you want to promote, TikTok will inform you that the video will be visible to your friends. The app will also ask you to say a few words about why you reposted the video. These do not appear as comments on the video, but are marked directly in the video itself above the name and video description of the creator. Here you can see which friends have reposted the content and can tap the “reposted” label to read their comments in a small pop-up window.
And if you change your mind about your repost, you can tap the Share menu, then tap Remove Repost to undo your re-sharing. This will also delete the message you added, TikTok Notes.
In some cases, TikTok users see the repost button that says “Recommend” because TikTok is still playing around with the language it wants to use here. But like with repost, the Recommend button also prompts users to say why they are re-sharing the video.
If TikTok rolls out the repost button more widely, it could prove to be a new way for YouTubers to discover their content on a platform that is now more about algorithmic recommendations than personal suggestions. But TikTok has likely seen how many of its users are already using its in-app messaging system to send videos to friends and are now trying to find a way to better integrate that signal with the For You feed itself.
