TikTok is back, right? After taking down the service yesterday (Sunday) morning, TikTok restored it this afternoon with a note: “Thanks to President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!
Instructions for TikTok.
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring TikTok’s owner, China-based ByteDance, to sell its US operations to avoid a US ban. The law went into effect on Sunday.
By noon Sunday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “On Monday, I will issue an executive order to extend the period of time before the bill’s bans go into effect so we can make an agreement to protect our national security.
While President Trump’s executive order on Monday should stop enforcement of the ban, the liability of third parties such as hosting platforms or app stores is unclear. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said during a Supreme Court hearing: “Whatever the new president does, it doesn’t change the reality for these companies.
Regardless, brands and merchants have social commerce options. Here is a list of TikTok alternatives featuring short video and live streaming formats. Some have monetization features and others have full e-commerce functionality similar to TikTok Shop.
Alternatives to TikTok
RedNote is a Chinese lifestyle and social media app popular for product recommendations and beauty, fashion and travel tips. RedNote (ie “Xiaohongshu”) is for shopping. Products can be tagged in posts so followers can easily click and shop in the app. RedNote offers lifestyle content search, blogging notes, split-screen collaboration, video and live content, and integrated e-commerce functionality. RedNote is currently the #1 social networking app in Apple’s App Store. RedNote says its network supports 300 million monthly users.
RedNote
Instagram reels means getting the most users out of any permanent TikTok shutdown, as the Meta app already dominates the social media landscape. Users can use Reels to create multi-clip videos of up to 90 seconds and add text, augmented reality filters, and audio. Users can start a live broadcast by swiping right on the feed and then scrolling to Live. Users can also use Stores to open storefronts on a business profile along with product brands to distribute shoppable content.
Amazon Live enables brands and creators to produce shoppable live and on-demand videos that span multiple categories, including home, beauty, electronics and shopping events such as Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Streams on Amazon Live can appear on Amazon’s homepage, in the “Amazon Live” section of the website, or on a seller’s or influencer’s storefront. Products featured in Amazon Live appear in a carousel at the bottom of the stream. Every registered brand partner is eligible to stream using the Amazon Live Creator app. These live streams will appear on the branded Amazon Store for 30 days and can be viewed live and on demand at Amazon.com/live.
Tilt is a social shopping app to discover brand products. U.S. direct-to-consumer companies can apply to join an exclusive list of sellers and integrate an existing e-commerce platform with Flip to sync the product catalog. Users can also become creators and earn money by sharing their shopping experiences. Flip charges a percentage fee on all sales generated through the platform. The fee depends on the product category.
Tilt
Shopping on YouTube allows authorized authors to present their products and branded goods. Viewers can browse and buy products from the channel store, video descriptions and collections – as well as through the buy button on videos, short films and live streams. Creators can showcase products by linking to their channel or creating and sharing shopping collections that will appear in the creator’s product listing, store tab, and video description.
What else is a social marketplace for selling products through live auctions. During the live stream, sellers may list items (i) for auction, (ii) in their Buy It Now store, or (iii) as giveaways. Users can participate in live auctions and dive deep with other collectors and like-minded shoppers. Marketers have several live streaming tools, including Zoom, Facecam, and a randomizer wheel to offer promotions and increase engagement. Salespeople have access to performance analytics.
Clapper is a short video and live streaming application that provides authentic communication and expression. Use the Duet Live feature to gain followers and interact in real-time, and use the radio feature for an audio-only room for up to 2,000 listeners and 20 speakers. Create a group community of fans to interact with. Clapper Shop allows creators to list and sell products. Add and promote your product and it will appear on the live stream screen for anyone to buy.
Fan base is an ad-free social hub for creators that generates subscription revenue by sharing posts, short and long videos, stories, and live audio and video streaming. Fanbase offers a 3-step tool to help TikTok creators migrate their content. Publish exclusive content available to monthly subscribers for prices ranging from $2.99 to $99. Users discover content through popular topics, interests and favorite authors. Users can also join live streams and chat with others or head to sound rooms.
Fan base
Like is a platform for sharing short videos and live streams. Likee includes augmented reality filters that can be used in videos and live streams, editing effects and an extensive music library. Creators can monetize content through SuperLikes and create SuperFollow subscribers with customizable monthly subscription prices. Likee says it has more than 150 million monthly active users worldwide.
Thriller is a social video sharing app similar to the music sharing core of TikTok. Using Triller’s auto-editing algorithm, creators can shoot a few shots, hit “Next,” apply more than 100 video filters, and add music. The platform then combines it all into a shareable video. Creators can also produce live video streams. Users can share or distribute via Instagram, Facebook, X, SMS and Email. Triller doesn’t have a monetization or e-commerce feature, but it has launched SaveMyTikToks.com to help creators back up their content by migrating it to Triller.
Neptune is a soon-to-be-released beta social networking and video sharing app for creators and community-focused connections. Neptune features (i) a customizable algorithm that allows users to tailor their experience to relevant content, and (ii) dummy metrics that measure content quality instead of just follower count. Neptune claims to help users create lasting connections. Neptune also claims that its monetization will be transparent and fair to creators. Sign up to get access to the beta launch.
CommentSold is a social commerce platform with live sales similar to the TikTok store. Merchants can start a live broadcast and distribute it simultaneously to their social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), website, mobile app and Shopify store. CommentSold’s features include (i) automatically generated video content for products with live sales segments, (ii) useful insights on inventory, customer and financial data, and (iii) expert advice from strategists. Shoppers comment “Sold” or click on a product highlighted in the live video to add it to their cart without leaving the stream. Marketers create shoppable videos using PopClips, which highlight and tag up to five products per video.
CommentSold