TikTok, the short-form video app known for dance challenges, viral trends and an algorithm said to know users better than they knew themselves, died in the U.S. Sunday.
First launched in the United States in 2018, the app quickly became the most downloaded social and entertainment app in the world. By 2020, when Americans were looking for ways to escape boredom amid COVID-19 lockdowns, the app had gained over 100 million U.S. users.
“People were really clamoring for relatable, unscripted, and unvarnished elements of life,” said Brooke Duffy, an associate professor at Cornell University’s Department of Communication who researches digital and social media industries.