Have you heard of TikTok, or don’t you know what exactly I’m talking about? Currently, there is a large number and variety of social platforms and applications designed for mobile phones. Even some like this one could be considered almost exclusive to this type of device.
This is precisely one of the networks I am referring to, and if you have children or nephews, you have likely seen them using it. It is a medium where users can share short videos showcasing their creativity to the fullest, and it has taken the world by surprise.
Despite this, it already has a huge user base and is one of the most widely used social networks in the world. For that reason, I have decided to explain in this article exactly how the “TikTok App” works. You will see that, at the end of the day, you will also download it to your mobile…
What is TikTok?
TikTok, or “Douyin” as it is called in China, is a relatively new social network from the huge Asian country, which only saw the light of day in 2016, and even so, it already has a huge base. of users around the world.
Even so, it was not until 2018 that the mobile application began to expand outside its country of origin.
It is estimated that, despite its relatively short lifespan, it already has more than 800 million users, including many from other communities, such as YouTube and Instagram, where we can find users with an established history on the Internet.
The main feature of TikTok is its short-form music videos, videos of a few seconds (between 15 and 60 seconds), in which a person can express their creativity without many limitations.
A bit similar to how Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook stories work, but with much more creative freedom.
And it is that this social network offers its users an editing tool that lets them add effects to videos, making them unique, creative, and, above all, entertaining.
Although it does not reach the level of a professional editing tool, it offers users entertaining features for quickly and easily editing their videos.
In addition, it is possible to use external editing applications to improve the quality of videos uploaded to this social network.
It is a vertical social network in which the main focus is videos created by its users, which can cover a wide range of topics, as I mentioned earlier.
In addition, it is very comfortable to use because, like Instagram, it offers infinite scrolling, which lets you quickly see content from users you follow.
In a certain way, this new network is very reminiscent of what Snapchat was at the beginning, a very attractive application for the youngest on the market.
Because yes, the largest population of this social network is precisely young people, for whom this App is directed, although without excluding an older audience.
From a Marketing in Social Networks perspective, this has become one of the best tools for advertising and attracting a younger audience, especially now that advertising is integrated into the application.
Later, I will tell you about how TikTok works exactly and what you can do on this Social Network.
How was TikTok Born?
The history of this application is quite curious, as it has been the subject of controversy. The truth is that it was originally launched by ByteDance in September 2016 as a Chinese application known as Douyin, which means “shake the music”.
This App quickly gained fame among China’s young population, with 100 million active users in its launch year, thanks to its short videos that could be shared or kept private at users’ discretion.
Until then, its market was mainly within China, and it was not until a year later, in September 2017, that ByteDance acquired the TikTok brand to expand its application to an international market, starting first with several Asian countries, such as Thailand, where the app was a tremendous success and the most downloaded free app.
Merger with Musica.ly and entry into the US market
A couple of months later, in November of the same year, 2017, ByteDance bought Musical.ly, a Shanghai- and California-based company that owned a social network similar to TikTok, with around 100 million users, mainly young people in the United States.
This acquisition cost more than 1,000 million dollars and marked the company’s foray into the US market, where it already has an estimated user base of more than 80 million, a large part of the global user base. of this social network.
Despite acquiring the company in November 2017, it wasn’t until August 2018, almost a year later, that TikTok and Musica.ly finally merged, opening the doors to a larger and more popular market in the West for ByteDance.
In fact, 2018 is the year many consider the true start of this platform in the Western market, as it spread rapidly on this side of the world.
Currently, this app is used in more than 150 countries and has been translated into about 75 languages to broaden its reach. It has gained such fame that prominent figures on social networks, as well as television, music, and film celebrities, have begun using this application.
TikTok and Douyin
Despite belonging to the same parent company, they continue to function as two separate apps today: TikTok for the international market and Douyin for China.
The application continues to be a success not only outside China but also within its country of origin, where it is widely known for the Marketing campaigns it typically runs, which feature major celebrities from the Asian nation.
What is the Controversy that Covers TikTok?
You have to understand that, despite operating in an international market, TikTok remains a company based in China and, as such, has no legal obligation to hide information from this country.
That said, various organizations in the United States affirm that the application poses a risk to national security and has even gained popularity on US military bases. It must be considered that the application freely shares images and videos not only of individuals but also of the locations they are in.
In addition to this, there have also been multiple cases of cyberbullying, racism, and pedophilia in the application.
Let’s remember that it is a very famous application among the youngest, and this includes children under 18 or 16 years of age, who are exposed to sexual predators and who often do not have the correct supervision of their parents.
A case that sounded a lot was that of Denver, a boy who was only 8 years old, who suffered sexual harassment through this application.
Having said this, it must be clarified that this is not the only application in which this type of situation is seen, since in some others, such as FaceApp, cases of cyberbullying and sexual predation are also seen.
What is TikTok Really for?
Originally, this application had a well-defined audience: young people ages 13 to 24 who enjoy creating short videos (15 to 60 seconds). Generally, these videos include music, though the choice to use background music is entirely up to the user.
Now, what can TikTok be used for? Well, like any social network, it lets you do a lot.
The main use it has is to share content in the form of short videos; With this content, it is then possible to interact with the users who live on this platform, either through comments, likes or even video reactions.
TikTok for Companies
Although the main public for this company is young, this is not an impediment to companies and brands building a presence on this social network. In fact, quite the opposite: it is an excellent place for a company to reach a new target audience, especially if that audience is younger.
Don’t be surprised: although young people between 13 and 25 years of age have less purchasing power than young adults (over 25 years of age), this does not mean they do not purchase products or services.
I remind you that these are the main consumers of some market sectors, such as video games, music, fashion, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and much more.
It is an audience that you really want to reach, and it is one of the best ways to do it today.
It is not for nothing that many artists make a living on this social network, since it is an excellent way to reach their most important audience. An example is that of Billie Eilish, who is a fairly active user on this social network.
Having a presence on this social network can be as advantageous as having a presence on Instagram or Facebook. The only difference is that you have to know how to do it, since, as I mentioned before, this platform focuses on short videos rather than posts or images.
But to reach this audience, you first need to understand how TikTok works.
How Exactly Does TikTok Work?
Let’s start with the fact that it is a social network partly similar to Instagram.
The display format is vertical, and to view the content users upload, we must swipe up to see new videos.
In a way, it’s like taking Instagram stories and putting them in the main feed. With that said, let’s talk about everything you can do on TikTok once you’ve downloaded the app and created your account.
Followed and Recommended
Let’s start with the content that we can access.
In the feed, we have two alternatives:
- The content that we “follow”, that is, content created by those users whom we voluntarily follow on this social network, either because we liked their content or because they are someone we know.
As with Instagram, the order of content will depend on when it was uploaded and how often we search for or interact with those users.
- Now, the second “alternative” is recommended content. This option lets you see what you might like, regardless of whether you are following the user who uploaded the video.
This is possible because this social network uses artificial intelligence to recommend content based on your viewing trends, who you have liked, who you have searched for, and more.
How to toggle between one option and another?
Simple, on the main page of TikTok, if you go to the top, you will see two small options, “Following” and “For you”. These are the two options I mentioned; you can choose either one to decide what kind of content appears in your feed.
By default, the one that usually appears when you open the app is “For you,” which shows the recommended ones.
At the bottom of the screen, there is a menu with 5 key options shared across all social networks. These are “Start”, “Trends”, “Más o más”, “Inbox”, and finally “Me”.
Now, what is each one for? Let’s see it.
- Start
The Home function is quite simple: it takes you to the main screen of the TikTok App, where you can continue to see content that interests you.
It has no more; just go back to the feed.
- Trends
A bit, as its name says, there you will find the main trends, whether they are challenges, hashtags, or themes in general.
This is also an important place if you want to stay up to date with the content uploaded to this app and create attention-grabbing content quickly.
For users, it is the ideal place to find interesting new content and users to follow.
- More or Plus
It’s the button in the middle with the plus sign.
With it, you can basically start recording and editing new content to upload to the application. It doesn’t have much else to it other than creating content.
- Inbox
In this option, you will find all the recent activity that has occurred in your account, whether they have commented on you, followed you, liked you, or others.
In this window, you will also find, in the upper right part, the direct messages that other users of the app have sent you.
From “Me,” you can access all the information related to your account and user profile, as well as manage all the important information about it, from security and privacy to payment options.
It is the first place you should visit after downloading the app and creating your account, where you will configure all the necessary basic information.
- Video interface
Now, let’s go to the videos. The first thing you should know is that, unlike the stories on other social networks, if you let the video run without sliding your finger, it will not automatically go to the next one, but rather it will enter a kind of loop, with which you will be able to continue watching the video until you decide to slide your finger.
That said, on the video screen, you will first see the name of the user who uploaded it, and just below, the hashtags they used.
This is at the bottom of the video, just above the menu.
In the left sidebar, you will have the three main interactions that exist in each social network: the typical “Like”, comments, and sharing. You can also see the statistics of each video just below the icons of each interaction.
Conclusion
And this is really all the most important and relevant to discovering what TikTok is, at least in a preliminary way.
As you can see, it is not very difficult to use, and its operation is quite simple a priori. Although being simple does not make it less relevant, in fact, this very simplicity makes it quite famous among young people.
Of course, if we go through each feature in depth, it could take us quite a while, since, as you know, each feature can be quite long if explained in depth.
June 4, 2026
June 4, 2026
June 4, 2026
June 4, 2026
June 4, 2026