What Year Did TikTok Come Out?

Find out about the launch history and evolution of TikTok

TikTok, a social media platform created just for short videos, had blown up on the web when it launched globally. In the article, we will discuss what year did TikTok come out, why it is widespread globally, and a brief overview of its launch and history. 

Because of its unprecedented success, other social media sites like Instagram and Facebook have developed comparable apps focusing on short videos to increase user interaction. So, let us get started with the TikTok launch date in the world and a brief overview of what the app is all about. 

What Is TikTok And What Is TikTok Launch Date In The World?

The app targets youngsters to lip sync and dance to quirky songs, make 15-to 60-second videos, and upload them to the feeds. 

what year did tiktok come out

The app allows users to take part in different TikTok trends and challenges. The users also get a chance to personalize their videos by adding filters, stickers, emojis, texts, effects, and backgrounds and trying different sound effects to make their TikTok videos enjoyable. The creators also make duet videos with a split-screen feature to collaborate. 

Understanding TikTok’s History And Launch Date

TikTok was launched in 2017 by Chinese developers. But how it came into existence is an exciting story. So, let us take a moment and understand the history of TikTok. A Startup company called ByteDance launched Douyin, initially called A.me. 

Douyin, headquartered in Beijing, catered to the Chinese market, where it quickly acquired 100 million members. The creator of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, understood that entering new markets would increase the company’s customer base.

Its rise in popularity led to the acquisition of rival platform Musical.ly in 2017. So, once it purchased and acquired Musical.ly for about 1 billion dollars and its features, it renamed the app and launched it as TikTok. 

What Is The Evolution Of TikTok?

Let us look at the data year-wise to understand how TikTok’s craze and popularity grew.

  • 2017: Merged with Musical.ly
  • 2018: By June 2018, the most downloaded app surpassed Facebook and YouTube. It was the second most downloaded app in the US by November and the third most globally.
  • 2019: By the end of 2019, TikTok released an official statement and announced that the app had reached 1.5 billion monthly active users from 150 countries. The numbers are astonishing.
  • 2020: So within four years of starting the app, it was the most successful startup in the world.
  • 2021: Throughout the lockdown, it was the most used app, with youngsters and millennials trying to follow trends and challenges, do DIY projects, and make dalgona coffee or banana bread.

By 2022, TikTok has also achieved a unique distinction: it has surpassed 3.5 billion app downloads without being owned by Meta. TikTok also attracts the majority of its users from the United States.

Since the launch of the app, it has been surrounded by controversies and politics. Midway through the year 2020, India banned TikTok and a slew of other Chinese app platforms on the grounds that they posed a threat to Indian sovereignty. In Bangladesh, you cannot use TikTok. The pornographic, indecent, and blasphemous nature of the content led to a short ban in Indonesia.

Why Is TikTok So Popular?

By now, you know what year did TikTok come out. So, now let us understand what makes TikTok so popular, not only among the youth but among all age groups. We have listed some of the features that make the app so entertaining.

  1. TikTok Live
  2. TikTok filters and effects
  3. Duet and Stitch

Conclusion

This was all about what year did TikTok come out. It is a great app to create content and monetize from it. You can identify your niche and collaborate with other influencers to leverage TikTok for growth and to get more views.