ByteDance – The Parent Company Behind TikTok
The Chinese tech company ByteDance was founded in 2012 in Beijing, China by Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo. ByteDance has become known for its sophisticated artificial intelligence technology and innovative apps. Before launching TikTok in 2016, ByteDance created several popular content platforms in China including Douyin, Toutiao and Xigua Video.
ByteDance’s founders, Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo, first met as college roommates at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. After working separately at technology companies including Microsoft and IBM, they reunited in 2012 to start ByteDance. Backed by venture capital, the company grew quickly as its AI algorithms and machine learning helped its apps deliver customized, engaging content to users.
Within a few years, ByteDance became a multibillion dollar company in China with over 60,000 employees. Its rapid growth was fueled by acquisitions of existing apps which it then scaled using ByteDance’s advanced data and AI capabilities. The company’s expertise in AI, machine learning and algorithmic recommendations would later become a key part of TikTok’s success.
The Creation of TikTok
TikTok was created by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, launching first in China under the name Douyin in September 2016 [1]. The app quickly gained enormous popularity among Chinese teenagers, becoming one of the most downloaded apps in the country. Douyin focused on short videos and viral video trends, with users creating and sharing 15 second videos on the platform.
In September 2017, ByteDance launched TikTok for markets outside of China. While Douyin targeted the Chinese market, TikTok aimed to grow in the global market. Much like its Chinese counterpart, TikTok took off rapidly, attracting millions of users – particularly teenagers. Its growth was fueled by viral memes, trends, and challenges that users could participate in through their short form videos. Within a year of launch, TikTok had been downloaded over 100 million times worldwide [2].
Musical.ly – The Predecessor to TikTok
Musical.ly was a short-form video app that launched in 2014 and focused primarily on lip sync videos. Users could record themselves lip syncing to popular songs and share the videos on the platform. Within a few years, Musical.ly gained an impressive userbase of over 100 million people.
In November 2017, Musical.ly was acquired by ByteDance for around $1 billion (https://www.wsj.com/articles/social-media-app-musical-ly-is-acquired-for-as-much-as-1-billion-1510253207). This gave ByteDance ownership of Musical.ly’s large existing community. Shortly after the acquisition, ByteDance merged Musical.ly into its similar short-form video app TikTok. This allowed TikTok to inherit Musical.ly’s userbase and growth, helping propel TikTok’s rapid expansion.
Merging Musical.ly and TikTok
In August 2018, ByteDance merged its short-form video app Musical.ly into TikTok, bringing Musical.ly users and features into the TikTok platform (https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/musical-ly-and). Musical.ly, founded in 2014, was known for its lip-sync videos and had developed a substantial userbase, especially among teenagers in the United States. After acquiring Musical.ly in late 2017, ByteDance made the strategic decision to consolidate it into TikTok to fuel further growth.
The merger brought Musical.ly’s 100 million users over to TikTok, combining the userbases and content libraries of both apps into one larger platform. Musical.ly accounts were automatically transferred to TikTok, expanding TikTok’s reach and content diversity. Some of Musical.ly’s key video creation tools and filters were also incorporated into TikTok. This influx of Musical.ly users was a major catalyst for TikTok’s viral growth in 2018 and beyond, helping to cement its popularity globally (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical.ly).
TikTok’s Viral Growth
TikTok downloads exploded after the Musical.ly merger. According to Sensor Tower, TikTok surpassed 1 billion total downloads on iOS and Android in February 2018, less than 9 months after acquiring Musical.ly Sensor Tower – TikTok Surpasses 1 Billion Installs. This growth continued and TikTok hit 2 billion total downloads in April 2019, and then 3 billion in July 2021 Business Insider – TikTok hits 3 billion downloads.
A major factor driving TikTok’s viral growth is its popularity for viral challenges and trends. Users create short videos showing off dance moves, comedy skits, stunts, and more as part of popular hashtags and challenges. These viral trends spread rapidly across TikTok, with major challenges often garnering billions of views. This frequent influx of new memes and challenges helps fuel continual engagement and growth for the app.
TikTok’s Global Expansion
After achieving massive popularity and engagement in China, TikTok set its sights on expanding worldwide. As described in an article on the Harvard Business Review, TikTok tailored its product and strategy specifically for each new overseas market to fuel global growth (https://hbr.org/2019/09/the-strategy-behind-tiktoks-global-rise).
TikTok rapidly translated its app into over 30 languages to make it more accessible and relevant across different cultures. The company also hired local content teams in each new market to create locally-tailored content and trends. As explained in blog post on Interconnected, TikTok customized its recommended videos and trends based on the interests of users in each country (https://interconnected.blog/how-does-tiktok-do-global-expansion/). This localization strategy was key to engaging users worldwide.
Within a few short years, TikTok saw tremendous international growth and expanded well beyond China. By providing customized and localized experiences, TikTok successfully transitioned from a Chinese app to a global social media phenomenon.
What Makes TikTok Unique
One of the key things that makes TikTok stand out from other social media platforms is its powerful recommendation algorithm. As explained by Sproutsocial, TikTok’s “For You” feed delivers a personalized stream of videos tailored to each user based on their preferences and engagement (1). This creates an immersive browsing experience that keeps users endlessly scrolling and discovering new content.
TikTok also provides users with a wide array of creative tools and effects to make fun and engaging videos, as noted by Influencer Marketing Hub. Users can add music, filters, stickers, captions, green screen backgrounds, and more to their short videos (2). This makes content creation highly accessible and enhances the entertainment value.
Additionally, TikTok is designed for full-screen vertical video viewing which creates an immersive browsing experience, as Buffer highlights. The app utilizes the entire screen for an optimal viewing experience (3). This differentiated interface keeps users focused on the content and facilitates more organic discovery.
TikTok Controversies
TikTok has faced its fair share of controversies, particularly around censorship, privacy, and clashes with regulators.
One major area of concern has been censorship and content moderation. TikTok has been accused of censoring content that is critical of the Chinese government in order to appease Chinese authorities. For example, in 2020, TikTok instructed moderators to censor posts related to China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The platform is also said to restrict content related to politically sensitive issues like the Tiananmen Square protests.
There are also ongoing worries about how TikTok collects, shares, and uses user data. Critics argue that the app’s data collection practices are overly invasive and that private user data may be accessible to the Chinese government. In 2020, TikTok paid a $5.7 million fine in the US for illegally collecting personal information from children.
Additionally, TikTok has faced regulatory clashes in major markets. In 2020, the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the US unless its US operations were sold to an American company. While this ban never materialized, US lawmakers continue to express data security concerns. In 2022, India temporarily banned TikTok and other Chinese apps over cybersecurity and privacy issues amid border tensions.
The Impact of TikTok
In just a few short years, TikTok has had a tremendous impact on youth culture, internet trends, entertainment, and more. TikTok has pioneered the short video format that allows users to create 15 to 60 second videos set to music or sounds. This has shaped internet and youth culture by spotlighting emerging trends, viral challenges, dances, songs, and more. According to MRC Data, music trends on TikTok can drive major spikes in streams and sales, showing the power TikTok has to make or break songs (source).
TikTok has also launched the careers of many creators and influencers. Ordinary people have amassed millions of followers from viral TikTok hits, leading to opportunities like book deals, product lines, TV shows, modeling gigs, and record contracts. The short video format allows anyone to show off talents and charisma. According to CNN, TikTok has disrupted the path to fame and changed perceptions of celebrity (source). Overall, TikTok’s impact on internet culture, entertainment, and creating new stars is undeniable.
The Future of TikTok
Despite rising competition from apps like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, TikTok continues to see incredible popularity and engagement. As of 2022, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally (Business of Apps).
TikTok is constantly rolling out new features to enhance the user experience, such as TikTok Now, a daily photo-sharing feature similar to BeReal. TikTok is also expanding into new verticals like gaming, e-commerce, and streaming entertainment. In 2022, TikTok announced a partnership with Snap to bring new augmented reality advertising options to brands (TikTok Newsroom).
However, TikTok faces an uncertain future in the United States due to ongoing regulatory concerns. In 2020, former president Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok over data privacy issues and its Chinese ownership. While the Biden administration revoked the TikTok ban, there are bipartisan calls in Congress to restrict TikTok over potential national security risks (New York Times). TikTok’s ability to navigate the US regulatory environment will be crucial to its future growth.
