Instagram's Rival? TikTok's New Photo Sharing App 'Whee' Launches | Release #231

ByteDance, the parent company of , has announced a new photo-sharing app 'Whee', positioning it as a competitor to . 'Whee' is a service that allows you to share photos with close friends.

The Google Play Store description for 'Whee' states:
'Whee is a place where you can capture and share real photos that express your true self. It's the best place to share moments of life with close friends. (Am I the first one to report this? Bytedance, the developer of Tiktok, is testing a new app called Whee. It's currently not available in the US but it is live in over a dozen countries.)'.
The app's interface is similar to , featuring messaging, 'likes' and comments, and a camera with filters.

As of the writing of this magazine, 'Whee' is not yet available in Japan. 'Whee' has been downloaded about 1,000 times, but ByteDance's flagship app has been downloaded over a billion times, suggesting a high potential for influence.

Interestingly, also offers features similar to . In April 2024, it launched an image-sharing app called 'TikTok Notes', which is currently in limited testing in Australia and Canada. While the distinction between the two apps seems unclear, it will be interesting to see how they develop in the future.

Meanwhile, has also adopted features from , such as the short video posts 'Reels'.
As competition in social media intensifies, it's becoming important not just to mass-produce apps, but to ensure each app has its own originality.