TikTok is planning to shut down TikTok Notes, which is set for May 8, 2025. The platform was launched in 2024 as a photo-sharing app to challenge Instagram but struggled to gain much user adoption in testing. In response, TikTok is now routing Notes users to its sister app Lemon8. But what does this shift mean for TikTok Notes users, and (is) Lemon8 the (platform’s) next big thing?
Why Is TikTok Shutting Down Notes?
The end of Notes follows a year of testing the feature in Canada, Australia, and Vietnam. Even though the platform offered similar functionality to Instagram — photo, slideshow and other creative content sharing — Notes didn’t seem to be able to make a dent. TikTok was having trouble getting users on the app, which made the platform difficult for the company to sustain within the competitive social media landscape.
TikTok said in a statement that it was discontinuing Notes and directing users to Lemon8, which is a more mature app in ByteDance’s portfolio. As stated by TikTok: “Lemon8 is a lifestyle application created to supplement and complement the experience that is typical to TikTok.” It has similar features and more advanced creative tools.
What Is Lemon8 and How Does It Compare to TikTok Notes?
While TikTok Notes only allows users to share photos and slideshows, Lemon8 is billed as a more full-featured alternative. It made its debut in 2020 in Japan and made a quick foray into the U.S. and Southeast Asia. As a photo-sharing and lifestyle content platform, it boasts functions with advanced filters, creative tools, and community-driven content. In this way, Lemon8 works as TikTok’s move to create a much stronger presence in photo sharing globally, pitching against giants like Instagram and Pinterest.
Moving from Notes to Lemon8 will be quite a transition for any TikTok user, but with this switch will come more creative options. Both photo collections and curated content through “Following” and “For You” feeds, as well as tools to “improve” photos with text, stickers, and effects, will all be features of Lemon8.
The Geopolitical Context: TikTok’s Push for Lemon8
The shutdown of TikTok Notes is more than a case of the application just not gaining traction. Like every other move in recent times, this decision forms part of a bigger plan by Bytedance, the parent company of both TikTok and Lemon8, to position Lemon8 as a potential substitute in case TikTok faces an ultimate ban in the U.S. There have been threats in the U.S. about banning TikTok on grounds of national security, giving Bytedance the impetus to scale Lemon8 as an alternative in the market.
By allowing users to link their TikTok accounts to Lemon8 and cross-share content, developers hope that this will afford creators seamless transition in the case of a TikTok ban. This displays ByteDance’s working-out-the-back door approach to mitigate risks stemming from uncertain prospects for TikTok in the U.S. market.
How Will Creators Be Affected by the TikTok Notes Shut Down?
The decision to shut down TikTok Notes brings more pertinent questions for creators who have just begun using the platform for building an audience. The transition to Lemon8 might have opened the door for creators to grow their audiences on another platform, although that poses challenges. Creators who primarily worked with photo content on TikTok Notes may have difficulties in shifting gears and learning how to put their images on a more lifestyle-centric platform that emphasizes collections and curating feeds.
While for TikTok creators who focus on video content, they might not be able to draw the engagement found on TikTok from Lemon8. However, with its photo-sharing app design, fewer creators would see the appeal compared to one working along the lines prior to the TikTok norm of video-first and dynamic.
Lemon8: The Future of ByteDance’s Photo-Sharing Strategy?
The question is: can Lemon8 do what TikTok Notes failed at? Lemon8 currently has a smaller user base (12.5 million active users worldwide as of December 2024), but it has the potential for rapid growth, thanks to its cross-promotion with TikTok. But it’s up against competition from established photo-sharing apps like Instagram and Pinterest that sport much larger user bases and more robust monetization tools for creators.
If Lemon8 builds a compelling monetization model, attracts more creators and its user base grows beyond TikTok’s current demographic, it could find a niche in the photo-sharing landscape. Yet without a coherent approach to expansion and monetization, it might not be a major rival.
Conclusion: What’s Next After TikTok Notes Shut Down?
The closure of TikTok Notes is the end of an experiment for TikTok but not the end of ByteDance’s ambitions in the photo-sharing space. As Luke describes himself as the successor of TikTok Notes, it promises a more developed app, but still has a lot of issues to face in order to scale and build a strong user retention with competing platforms. Lemon8’s success will hinge on attracting and retaining creators, providing compelling features, and creating a viable revenue model. Only time will tell if Lemon8 thrives where TikTok Notes has not.
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