TikTok is copying Instagram again with Whee

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TikTok recently launched a new Instagram-like photo-sharing app called Whee, as spotted by Android Police and APKMirror founder Artem Russakovskii.

TikTok is explicitly positioning Whee as an app for sharing photos with only your closest friends. “Capture and share real-life photos that only your friends can see, allowing you to be your most authentic self,” according to Whee’s Google Play description. “Whee is the best place for close friends to share life moments.”

Screenshots of the app listing feature things like a photo viewfinder, a list of friends to message, and a feed — and many of the photo captions highlight how the features are for connecting with friends.

It seems that TikTok is still testing the waters with this new app. It’s currently available on Android in “more than a dozen countries,” but not the US, Android Police reports. I’m also not seeing it on the iOS App Store. TikTok and parent company ByteDance didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

This isn’t TikTok’s first app that appears to take some inspiration from Instagram: in April, the company started rolling out an image-sharing app called TikTok Notes.

Summary
TikTok has launched a new photo-sharing app called Whee, aimed at sharing photos with close friends. The app is described as a platform for authentic self-expression among friends. Whee features a photo viewfinder, messaging with friends, and a feed for connecting with friends. The app is currently available on Android in several countries but not in the US, with no presence on the iOS App Store. This move follows TikTok's previous launch of TikTok Notes, another app inspired by Instagram, in April.