Bluesky has a new TikTok mode that could fill a gap created by the ongoing saga of TikTok being banned and revived. TikTok’s future is in jeopardy, or at least in turmoil, which leaves millions of people on the lookout for a new way to view trending videos. The app shut down briefly in the United States recently. Service for the app is back, and it appears that TikTok could be here to stay in the United States, but the saga has other app makers looking for ways to convert users. Bluesky now has a video-only mode that looks a bit like a TikTok feed and Elon Musk is considering restoring Vine to its former glory.
Billions of people use TikTok, only a fraction of which live in the United States. But it’s undeniable that the platform losing US-based creators and users would have a major impact on the app globally. With President Trump about to take office for a second term and eager to keep TikTok around in the United States, there’s a good chance the app remains active in the country. But scares like this make people look elsewhere. Creators want stability and to know their audience will be there. Users also want an app that is stable and available.
When it seemed likely that TikTok would shut down in the US, users started flocking to alternatives, including the Chinese-owned Rednote. CNN covered the spike in Rednote users and migration of TikTok users to Rednote and other apps. Interestingly, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat have not seen growth that you may expect with a rival in turmoil.
App makers are working hard to make their respective platforms a destination for users leaving TikTok. Instagram announced a new app called “Edits” that replicates many of TikTok’s popular features, though that app won’t ship until March. Bluesky also joined in on the fun with a new video mode.
Bluesky rolls out TikTok mode
Bluesky “had to get in on the video action too,” according to the app’s official account on the platform. Bluesky now supports custom feeds for videos that you can navigate by swiping. To enter the new mode, you need to swipe up when viewing a custom video feed. Any custom video feed should work, but Bluesky shared a link to its trending video feed as an example. You can customize the experience for custom video feeds, such as enabling the option to swipe vertically to view a new video, within Bluesky’s settings.
The AT Protocol Developers community is also working on video-only apps that use Bluesky as a source for content. One of those apps, Skylight, says that it is “using atproto to build a TikTok alternative.” Another app called Bluescreen, states that a short video client for Bluesky is coming soon.
For now, you’ll have to wait for an update to roll out to your Bluesky app to use the new video mode. Bluesky notes that you may have to restart your app one or two times to see the new feature.
Do it for the Vine! Is Elon “gonna do it?”
Bluesky is not the only app that could serve as a destination for TikTok users. Elon Musk says that X (formerly Twitter) is “looking into” bringing Vine back. X (then Twitter) purchased Vine in 2012. Back then, Vine did not even have an iOS app. Vine remained active until 2017, when it was shut down.
Musk has teased a potential return of Vine before, posting a poll on the topic in 2022. Despite over 69% of participants voting yes to reviving Vine, the social media platform did not return. Musk has a bit of a history of promising things and not delivering, so it’s not shocking to see polls roll out to excite users only for Musk to not follow through.
