Larger Descriptions
With this latest update, users can now add larger descriptions to their posts. Up until now, the character limit for post descriptions was set to just 300 characters to emulate a more Twitter-like format. Now, this character limit has been increased to 2,200 characters. This means that you can now add large paragraphs of up to 300 words or more while publishing new posts.
Photo Mode
Another important change introduced is the addition of a special Photo Mode. This is a new type of post that will act like a carousel so that you can share multiple images at the same time. It is very much like an Instagram photo dump but with the added bonus of having music in the background to accompany the photo series.
Customization Options
Last but not least, the app is also making some changes to the way you can edit videos. This includes new ways of adding text and music to the post, along with the ability to add sound effects and text overlays. TikTok already has hundreds of different customization options for posts within their app, which will increase the variety of options you can pick.
Live Shopping
While it was not officially announced along with this software update, there are rumours that the app is testing a new feature that will allow users to shop during a livestream. This live shopping feature will be launched in collaboration with the famous shopping platform, TalkShopLive, and will allow users to buy products from right within the app itself.
They initially tested this feature in the UK market under the name TikTok Shop, but it was soon rolled back due to some technical issues. Now, it seems like the company is experimenting with this model again, but in the US market. Under this updated model, users will see products appear in a sidebar while watching live streams. They can add the products to an in-app shopping cart and even pay from within the app.
TalkShopLive is expected to take a small commission fee of 10% on all product sales, which will be covered by TikTok during the initial trial run. We don't know when this feature will actually be rolled out to customers at large, but it is expected to happen sometime next year.
