New feature shows that even Twitter wants to be like TikTok now

By Anita George Published September 29, 2022

Is TikTok the new queen bee of social media? It appears so as even Twitter couldn’t resist copying TikTok. Twitter’s latest feature announcement seems to be yet another indication that the viral video app sensation is clearly the new leader among its peers. After all, TikTok is setting trends and its competitors are all following them.

On Thursday, Twitter announced two new video-focused features for its app and one of those features bears a strong resemblance to TikTok. That feature (known as the “immersive media viewer”) allows users to open videos in a vertical “full-screen mode” — just like TikTok — and continue to view more videos by swiping up (also just like TikTok).

Twitter's new full screen feature for videos on the mobile app. — Twitter, Inc.

Twitter’s blog post announcement said that the immersive media viewer feature is expected to be “available in the coming days” for users on Twitter for iOS who use Twitter in English.

The second new video-focused feature Twitter announced is a new video carousel that can be found in the Explore tab. Basically, it’s a section called “Videos for you” that displays a series of popular videos you may want to check out. This feature is available now for “people in select countries using Twitter in English on iOS and Android.”

(I did test out the new features on an Android device, and while the immersive media viewer didn’t seem to work (as expected) for videos featured in tweets, it did seem to work for me when I viewed videos in the new video carousel feature in the Explore screen. Via the video carousel, I was able to view some — but not all — videos in full-screen mode and I was able to swipe up to see more videos.)

Twitter is not the first social media platform to copy TikTok. Instagram is well-known for trying to do so — only to be met with quite the backlash. Facebook has also tried to catch up to TikTok’s success with its own take on video content, Facebook Reels. And YouTube is doing its best to have its creators start making their short-form video content for YouTube with its own version of TikTok videos called Shorts.

You would think Twitter would learn from Instagram’s mistakes. Especially since some of the backlash against Instagram’s TikTok-inspired changes found a home on the bird app itself, as those who wanted to complain about the changes took to Twitter to do so.

Topics

Computing Writer

Anita has been a technology reporter since 2013 and currently writes for the Computing section at Digital Trends. She began…

Social Media

What is Mastodon? Here’s why everyone’s talking about this Twitter alternative

Series of four mobile screenshots showing Mastodon's sign-up process.

By now you've no doubt heard about Mastodon. It's a social media platform that's been bandied about as an alternative to Twitter, particularly among users who aren't comfortable with the direction Twitter is going in now that Elon Musk is at the helm.

In fact, since Musk first announced that he was planning on buying the popular microblogging platform, Mastodon has garnered quite a bit of attention and experienced significant growth. But though you've likely heard about Mastodon, you may not be familiar with how it works or haven't decided whether or not it would be a good fit for you if you ever choose to leave Twitter and need an alternative social media platform. Don't worry. We've got you covered. In this guide, we'll get you up to speed on everything you need to know about social media's buzziest new platform.
What is Mastodon?

Social Media

Twitter’s SMS two-factor authentication is having issues. Here’s how to switch methods

A person's hands holding a smartphone as they browse Twitter on it.

It might be a good idea to review and change your two-factor authentication options for Twitter. Elon Musk's Twitter has another issue for its users to worry about.

Twitter has reportedly been having issues with its SMS two-factor authentication feature (2FA). According to Wired, beginning as early as this past weekend, some Twitter users have reported difficulties logging in to their Twitter accounts due to the app's SMS 2FA feature not working properly. Essentially, the feature relies on the app sending users an authentication code via text message, which they can then enter as a second step in the login process.

Social Media

Twitter has reportedly suspended signups for Twitter Blue

Twitter Blue menu option on a white screen background which is on a black background.

The start of Elon Musk's tenure as owner of Twitter has not been without its struggles and chaos. And so far, the chaos Twitter currently finds itself in shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.

So it seems fitting that the latest news on the Twitter front is that signups for the microblogging platform's $8-per-month Twitter Blue subscription have reportedly been suspended. On Friday, Forbes reported that new signups for Twitter's newly revamped Blue subscription have apparently been disabled, having "verified that users have not been able to sign up to the service for more than an hour," and also citing that the option to sign up for Blue on the iOS app had disappeared as further proof of the suspension. The Verge also noted that some users may still see the option to subscribe, only to then be met with an error message. One of the editors at Digital Trends said the option to sign up for the service is just missing from his iOS app's menu, noted that it had been like that "since at least 8 p.m. PT last night," and shared the following screenshot: