TikTok has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming one of the most used social media platforms globally. As of January 2024, TikTok has over 120.5 million monthly active users just within the United States (Source: https://www.socialpilot.co/tiktok-marketing/tiktok-statistics). Worldwide, TikTok boasts over 689 million monthly active users, meaning nearly 9% of the global population is on TikTok (Source: https://xperiencify.com/tiktok-statistics/).
A major part of TikTok’s appeal is its filters that allow users to alter their appearance or surroundings in videos. Filters on TikTok range from fun facial effects to green screen backgrounds and text overlays. In fact, 64% of TikTok users report having tried the platform’s facial filters and lenses (Source: https://www.socialpilot.co/tiktok-marketing/tiktok-statistics). Filters help make TikTok an engaging social experience.
Types of TikTok Filters
There are several categories of filters available on TikTok: facial filters, color filters, green screen filters, and text overlays.
Facial filters on TikTok allow users to apply different effects to their face, such as animal ears and noses. For example, the cat face filter adds whiskers, cat ears, and a cute nose to a user’s face, making them resemble an adorable cat. Other popular facial filters include ones that add freckles, glasses, flower crowns, and more.[1]
Color filters change the overall color and tone of a video. These types of filters don’t alter a user’s face or add elements like the facial filters do. Instead, they create cool visual effects like giving a 70s vintage look or an edgy, futuristic vibe. Popular options include the black and white filter, pink filter, and blue filter. [2]
Green screen filters allow users to place themselves in front of different backdrops and backgrounds. From tropical beaches to outer space, the possibilities are endless. TikTok’s green screen technology detects the user and separates them from their surroundings, enabling all sorts of creative video effects.
Text overlays make it easy for users to add text captions, subtitles, and other words directly onto their videos. This allows users to enhance their message or tell a story more effectively. Text options include different fonts, sizes, colors and positions on the screen.
[1] https://www.agorapulse.com/blog/tiktok-filters/
[2] https://influencermarketinghub.com/tiktok-filters/
How Facial Filters Work
Facial filters rely on facial recognition technology to identify and map key facial features. The filters use computer vision algorithms like ARCore to detect a user’s face and track facial landmarks in real-time such as the eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, and chin. Once the facial features are mapped, the filter can then augment the face by smoothing skin, enlarging eyes, contouring cheeks, applying virtual makeup, or even overlaying 3D masks and accessories.
The facial mapping process relies on neural networks and deep learning to accurately identify facial features. The more data the algorithms are trained on, the better they become at facial recognition and distinguishing unique facial characteristics. According to Quantilus, over 200 neural network points may be mapped on a face to enable filters to augment facial features in a customized way.
After the facial landmarks are mapped, the filter’s image processing pipeline modifies the input image or video feed. Common augmentations include enlarging eyes, thinning the nose bridge, evening skin tone, applying virtual makeup, adding freckles or accessories, and overlaying masks or animal faces. The use of AR technology allows these augmentations to respond in real-time to a user’s facial expressions and movements for a seamless filtered experience.
How Color Filters Work
Color filters on TikTok work by manipulating the red, green, and blue color channels of an image or video. They adjust properties like brightness, contrast, and saturation to creatively alter the look and feel of the visuals.
Some color filters boost specific color channels to make reds, greens, or blues really pop. Others desaturate the image to create a black and white or vintage aesthetic. Split toning filters apply different hues to the highlights and shadows for a stylized duotone effect.
Advanced color grading techniques allow for targeted adjustments to change the mood and tone of a scene. For example, cooling down the white balance makes videos feel crisp and clinical, while warming it up creates a cozy glow. Selective color filters go a step further by isolating a particular color range and changing just those tones.
TikTok leverages powerful image processing algorithms to apply these effects in real-time with minimal latency. The app determines the dominant colors in each frame and intelligently shifts the hue, brightness, and contrast accordingly (source). This allows the color transforms to adjust dynamically based on the image content for more natural results.
Overall, TikTok’s diverse range of color filters gives creators easy ways to stylize their videos and set a particular ambience. The filters add visual interest that helps shorts stand out in people’s feeds and better match the intended mood of the content.
How Green Screen Filters Work
Green screen filters allow TikTok users to replace the background behind them with another image or video. This works through a technique called chroma key compositing, which removes a specific color from the foreground and replaces it with the new background.
The most common implementation is removing a green background behind a subject, allowing a new background to be digitally layered behind them instead. This is why it’s referred to as a “green screen” effect. The process involves identifying the green color in the foreground video and removing or making it transparent. This reveals the other background behind it.
As described by the National Film Institute, “The chroma key isolates the desired color (typically green) and removes it digitally by making it transparent. This allows the other image to be seen. When the talent stands in front of a green screen, they can be digitally extracted from the background.” (Source)
TikTok leverages this technique to let users shoot video in front of any solid color background, then select a new video or image to put behind them in the app. This provides an easy way to create fun videos with custom digital backdrops.
How Text Overlays Work
TikTok uses advanced computer vision technology to detect faces and objects within an image or video in order to properly place text overlays. This involves techniques like facial landmark detection to identify the positioning of facial features as well as object recognition algorithms to identify objects or scenery in the background.
Once faces and objects are detected, TikTok can determine the blank or open areas within the frame to position text overlays. The text is rendered onto the video frame in the appropriate position to avoid covering up key subjects. This provides an unobstructed view of the person or object while the text is overlaid on top.
According to research from Smirnov (2022), video overlays have strict horizontal orientation and are often depicted on a contrasting background. The contrast makes the text more readable and identifiable by computer vision algorithms.
Tools like Amazon Rekognition provide robust text detection capabilities that can identify text in images and video frames. The detected text can then be automatically transcribed into machine readable form. TikTok likely uses similar deep learning algorithms to power its computer vision for intelligent text overlays.
Creating Custom Filters
TikTok allows users to create and upload their own custom filters through TikTok’s Effect House platform. Effect House provides creators with augmented reality development tools to make filters tailored to their specific needs and creative vision.
Through Effect House, developers can use Spark AR, FaceFX, Snap Camera, or other AR creation platforms to design filters featuring 3D objects, facial distortions, color changes, and more. They can integrate audio effects, facial gestures, interactions, and other dynamic elements not available in standard TikTok filters.
Once a custom filter is completed in the AR platform, creators can submit it to Effect House for approval. If approved, the filter will be added to the creator’s personal filter library and made available for use in their own videos or by their followers. Particularly popular custom filters may be added to TikTok’s general filter library for all users.
The option to create customized filters gives TikTok users, especially popular influencers and brands, the ability to develop filters that represent their personal style and connect them to their audience in creative new ways.
Viral Filter Trends
TikTok filters have spawned many viral trends, as creative users engage with fun filters that transform their appearance or environment. Some of the most popular viral filters on TikTok include the dog filter, which overlays dog ears, nose, and tongue on a person’s face. This cute filter went viral in 2019, launching the #dogfilter challenge. Another popular early TikTok filter was the time warp filter, which showed transitions into different outfits and locations in a fast-motion video clip. The time warp filter inspired the #timewarpscan trend in 2020.
User engagement with filters is a huge driver of viral trends on TikTok. Creative use of filters combined with popular dance trends, memes, or challenges often lead to filters going viral. Users also enjoys sharing their experiences with new filters or showing off editing skills in transitions between filters. TikTok compilations featuring different filters on various users also tend to go viral. Overall, TikTok users are highly engaged with trying out new filters for fun and creative expression.[1]
The Impact of Filters
Filters have become a major driver of engagement on TikTok. Fun filters like the Cartoon filter or Green Screen let users express their creativity. More controversial beauty filters like the Bold Glamour filter have also gone viral, racking up millions of views. However, some argue these filters promote unrealistic beauty standards, especially among young users.
One concerning filter is the “Teen” filter, which makes users appear younger, almost adolescent-like. As reported by BBC, child safety experts have raised concerns about this filter normalizing the sexualization of teens. TikTok has responded by trying to limit distribution of the Teen filter.
While filters present harms, they have undeniably helped fuel TikTok’s success. The app makes it easy for creators to access and use filters. Filters keep users entertained and engaged. However, TikTok does have a responsibility in deciding which filters to promote versus restrict. Overall, filters have had a profound impact on the TikTok ecosystem.
The Future of TikTok Filters
TikTok filters are likely to become even more advanced and sophisticated in the coming years, thanks to new technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI).
AR filters already allow TikTok users to overlay digital effects and objects onto real-world environments in their videos. But as AR technology improves, TikTok filters could incorporate more realistic and complex AR effects that interact even more seamlessly with the user’s surroundings.
VR could also open up new creative possibilities for filters. Users may one day be able to apply filters not just to their selfie videos, but to fully immersive VR environments and experiences on TikTok. This could take filters to the next level in terms of altering reality.
Meanwhile, advancements in AI will likely enable filters to become more personalized, responsive, and intelligent. AI-powered filters introduced by TikTok already transform users’ faces in convincing ways. As the technology develops further, TikTok filters may be able to realistically synthesize users’ facial expressions, movements, and surroundings for unique customized effects.
The possibilities for more advanced, dynamic, and interactive filters on TikTok in the future are endless thanks to emerging technologies. Filters will likely continue to be a core part of what makes TikTok a uniquely creative and innovative platform.
