Some TikTok users have received notifications about a new app for photo posts "coming soon"
TikTok is to take on social media rival, Instagram, by launching a photo-sharing app.
Some users have received notifications saying their photo posts will be shared to a new "TikTok Notes" app unless they opt out.
Instagram's focus on making Reels more central to app has previously frustrated some users.
TikTok says it has not finalised the design of the Notes app, nor has it confirmed a release date.
Notifications received by some users suggest the app will let users upload or share photo posts - which are currently a feature of the TikTok app and let people post a series of images with sounds and filters.
Screenshots of the notification showed a toggle on the notifications allowing TikTok users to opt out of having their photo posts shared to the app.
Social media consultant Matt Navarra said a text or photo app might be a space where the majority of TikTok users who "Lurk", rather than post, would engage more.
"Launching Notes as a separate app would be a departure in strategy for TikTok, which has previously incorporated new features directly into the core app, but it makes sense given the current regulatory and consumer scrutiny," said Jasmine Enberg, principal social media analyst at Insider Intelligence.
Mike Proulx suggested the best way forward for TikTok might be to copy what Meta did with its Twitter rival, Threads, where it leaned heavily on the existing Instagram user base.
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