TikTok is shutting down TikTok Notes—wait, you didn’t even know it existed? Well, that explains a lot.
TikTok Notes, the platform’s short-lived attempt to take on Instagram (just as Instagram Reels was built to mimic TikTok), is officially being retired. Launched in limited markets like Canada, Australia, and Vietnam last year, the photo-sharing app let users post images with captions—simple enough, but apparently not compelling enough.
Users are now being notified that TikTok Notes will shut down on May 8, with TikTok instead shifting focus to another ByteDance-owned platform: Lemon8.
“We’re excited to bring the feedback from TikTok Notes to Lemon8 as we continue building a dedicated space for our community to share and experience photo content, designed to complement and enhance the TikTok experience,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch.
Lemon8—think Instagram meets Pinterest—has quietly been gaining traction, tripling its U.S. user base since last summer and hitting 12 million downloads. It reportedly had around 12.5 million global monthly active users by December 2024. TikTok didn’t spell out why Notes is getting the axe, but given how few people knew about it . . . the writing was on the wall.
In a notice to users, TikTok is urging anyone who used Notes to download and save their content before the app disappears for good. They’re also encouraging creators to continue their “creative journey” on Lemon8 instead.
Unlike TikTok’s vertical video scroll, Lemon8 leans photo-first, allowing users to post curated carousels and slideshows. Still, it borrows TikTok’s dual-feed format, with both a “Following” and “For You” feed for discovery.
Déjà vu? That’s because TikTok already started plugging Lemon8 as a backup late last year when a potential U.S. ban first loomed. Now, with a fresh April 5 deadline hanging over TikTok’s head, the strategy looks familiar—and unchanged.
The short lesson of TikTok Notes: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And if the whole app banned, I guess everyone panic.
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