TikTok has added some new DM features, including the capacity to send minute-long voice notes, as well as expanded image and video sharing, both for one-on-one messaging and group chats.
First off, on audio messages. Now, TikTok users have the option to create minute-long audio clips from their composer options, by holding down on the microphone icon alongside the text box.
The process provides a simple UI for recording and sending audio messages, but be careful, because as soon as you release the microphone button, you’ll send that audio as a message.
As explained by TikTok:
“While recording a voice message, you can choose to:
- Release the record button to send
- Swipe across to delete the recording
- Swipe up to lock the recording and continue to record without pressing and holding, then tap the Send button to send or the Delete button to discard.”
So there is an alternative to the immediate send as soon as you release the button, while you can also delete a voice message within 3 minutes of sending it.
It could be a quick and easy way to add more personality, or respond quickly to a DM, giving you more options for direct communication.
It also brings TikTok’s DM element more into line with messaging tools in other apps, and with more and more people engaging via private messages, it could be a valuable addition.
TikTok’s also giving users the option to send up to nine images or videos as attachments to your DMs, either by selecting them from your camera roll, or capturing them with the TikTok camera.
Which is another measure that will bring TikTok’s messaging tools more into others on the market, and given the rising popularity of messaging as a connection option, that makes a lot of sense.
As noted by TechCrunch, TikTok has also added a key safety feature, with users unable to send an image or video as their initial message request. TikTok DMs are also not available to users under 16 at all, and in combination, these restrictions should reduce harmful misuse of DMs.
In broader terms, these are fairly minor features, which most users would now expect in DM elements. As such, they align with broader usage shifts, and TikTok’s been gradually building out its messaging options to meet this demand. Over the past year, TikTok’s also added group chats, broadcast channels for brand profiles, and DMs during live-streams.
These new updates provide more capacity on this front, which could see more people conducting more engagement activity in the app.
