The addicting clock app is now testing a feature that will spare you the bother of having to DM your friends the most shareable clips from your For You tab. TikTok has added a “Repost” button that functions similarly to Twitter’s retweet tool, although it does not appear to be available to all users just yet.
Several websites had already reported on the functionality, and on December 19th, social media strategist Matt Navarra tweeted an image of the button. TechCrunch has a more in-depth look at how the functionality works in practice, including the fact that it appears to be confined to the For You feed from the share menu rather than the whole TikTok app. (Videos that have been shared can also be un-shared from this option.)
Furthermore, videos posted with the Repost button will only display on their friends’ For You feeds, not in the sharer’s profile. The Repost option, according to TechCrunch, will only put the video into the feeds of individuals who follow each other. According to reports, the tool is being tested with a small group of people, and some members of The Verge team got access to it while others did not.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment on the feature or how widely it is now accessible, but the firm said in a statement to TechCrunch that it is “always thinking about new ways to offer value to our community and expand the TikTok experience.”
Some users are seeing a “Recommend” button instead of the Repost function, according to TechCrunch. Both ask users to explain why they’re sharing the video — a step that you can completely avoid by just DMing it. However, depending on the pool of mutuals with whom you wish to share a video, this may be inconvenient. Remember that comments on shared videos are visible, yet they will vanish if you un-share a video with your mutuals.
I have precisely five (5) mutual TikTok friends that receive anything from two to twenty TikTok DMs each day from me alone, so I’m sure they’ll appreciate the shuffle-in option to being pinged a dozen times per day if and when they get it.
