TikTok Takes on WhatsApp

TikTok takes on WhatsApp… less than 8 months after hiring WhatsApp’s former Lead PM and Google’s former Head of Product, Core Messaging.

As they “join the chat”, the ByteDance child company has also hired:

• WhatsApp’s former Product Design Manager
• Lead Software Engineer with experience at WhatsApp and Apple
• Global Product Marketing Lead from Google’s Android Messaging team
• Global Head of Social Media from WhatsApp and Twitter
• Product Manager from Uber’s messaging team
• Regional Product Policy Lead from Slack

Users can now create group chats with up to 32 people - keeping them all on the app rather than heading to texts on WhatsApp to share content.

The group chats will only be available to users over the age of 15, and the company says it’s added safety features to help protect minors. For example, teens won’t be able to join a group chat unless they have one mutual friend in it.

Will TikTok’s messaging features help keep users on the platform? Messaging certainly worked to keep Instagram users on the platform, adding more cohesive communication options on top of “just” image sharing.