TikTok may be back, but that’s not stopping other social media platforms from trying to get into its business. Bluesky has become the latest to introduce a TikTok-like vertical video feature on mobile devices called Trending Videos, which is now available in the “Browse” tab, the company announced in its app.
“We couldn’t stay away either – Bluesky now has custom video feeds! Like any other channel, you can choose whether to pin them [to your home screen] or not. Bluesky is customizable,” the company wrote.
I was able to access this feature on my Android phone by pressing “Search”. A section called “Trending Videos (Beta)” appeared on the screen, and if you clicked “View More”, a number of short videos appeared (many of them imported from TikTok). If you swipe up, a series of new videos appear a la TikTok, although Bluesky didn’t say what algorithm it uses to suggest them. If you don’t see the feature right away, just restart the app, Bluesky advises.
In the same thread, the company shouts out other developers who are creating TikTok competitors using the same AT protocol as Bluesky (Tik, Skylight, Bluescreen), most of which are still in closed testing.
X introduced its own vertical video feature almost simultaneously as it also looks to capitalize on TikTok’s removal from US app stores. “Today, a new immersive video platform is coming to users in the US,” the platform said in a statement. Also announced over the past day was the launch of Edits, a video editing tool on Instagram designed to challenge TikTok’s CapCut.
