Facebook May Be Launching A New App To Compete With TikTok

Facebook is roping Jason Toff, a Google’s former employee, for an important portfolio so it’s possible that the social giant is in preparation for launching a short video-sharing app to compete with TikTok.

Toff used to work at Twitter as the General Manager of Vine, a now-defunct short-video sharing platform. He has joined Facebook and will work as Product Management Director with the responsibility for leading the company’s New Product Experimentation team (NPE).

On Monday, Toff announced the news via Twitter:

Last week, Facebook announced the formation of NPE team, whose goal is to develop experimental apps for consumers that are still removed from the company’s core brand. According to The Verge, when working for Google, Toff was tasked with VR projects and the in-house Area 120 incubator, similar to the concept of NPE team. Although Toff couldn’t disclose details of his tasks, his post on Twitter said he’s looking for a UX designer and engineer team for the project.

Also last week, the social giant said that it will roll out new consumer-focused apps with the developer dubbed “NPE Team, from Facebook.”

According to the firm, NPE Team apps will allow people to develop community but its focus will be creating completely new experiences. It also decided to make use of this brand name so users will expect that the apps will make changes rapidly and will get shut down if they prove not useful.

In 2019’s first half, ByteDance-owned TikTok witnessed a year-over-year install growth of 28 percent, registering about 344 million users across the world, as reported by Sensor Tower – a company specialized in mobile app intelligence.