Meta’s tests point to more TikTok-style social media

Since TikTok became a mainstream force, its format has been copied across social media and beyond. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlight and LinkedIn’s vertical video feed are among the familiar examples; Netflix has also tried Clips, alongside less recognizable services such as Triller, Zynn and Byte.

Meta has spent years filling Facebook and Instagram feeds with video as it pursues TikTok’s success. But tests running abroad may signal a more complete shift: social media’s TikTok-ification could be reaching its fullest form yet. Rather than simply adding a short-video feature alongside familiar posts, the tests hint at platforms moving further toward an experience shaped by video.

That possibility matters because Facebook and Instagram are among the world’s biggest social networks. If Meta takes this approach beyond a test, it could make TikTok’s style feel less like one format among many and more like the default way to use social media. The tests are not proof that such a change is coming everywhere, but they offer a preview of how much further Meta may be willing to go in adapting its feeds.

How TikTok’s format spread across platforms

Since TikTok burst into mainstream consciousness, a growing range of services have been called “TikTok clones.” The list includes YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Snapchat Spotlight, as well as Netflix’s Clips and LinkedIn’s vertical video feed.

It also extends to less recognizable names: Triller, Zynn and Byte. The varied examples show how the “TikTok clone” label has been applied to vertical video features across platforms, from major social networks and streaming services to smaller apps.

For years, Facebook and Instagram have also filled users’ feeds with video as Meta pursues TikTok’s success. That longer shift provides context for the current tests abroad: the spread of TikTok-style video has not been limited to apps that resemble TikTok by name or focus. It has become a point of comparison for features offered by a range of online services.

Meta has expanded video in its feeds

Facebook and Instagram have spent years filling users’ feeds with video as Meta pursues TikTok’s runaway success. That push has helped make video a prominent part of both platforms, as Meta responds to the popularity of TikTok.

The shift fits a wider pattern across social media. Since TikTok entered the mainstream, platforms have adopted or tested formats associated with it. Instagram Reels is among the examples, alongside YouTube Shorts, Snapchat Spotlight and LinkedIn’s vertical video feed. Other services have also tried to capture audiences with video formats, including Netflix’s Clips and apps such as Triller, Zynn and Byte.

Meta’s long-running expansion of video is part of that broader competition. The company has been filling Facebook and Instagram feeds with video for years, while pursuing TikTok’s success. Now, tests on the two platforms could point to a further stage in that evolution: social media feeds that look more like TikTok than the formats users have known before.

The tests are running abroad

TechCrunch reports that some users in India are getting a test that offers a glimpse of how far Meta may take the TikTok-style shift. The report places the experiment abroad, rather than describing a change available to everyone. Still, the test matters because Facebook and Instagram have spent years adding more video to their feeds as Meta pursues TikTok’s success.

The broader context is a social media landscape where TikTok’s format has already spread well beyond TikTok itself. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Snapchat Spotlight are among the services that have been called TikTok clones, alongside less familiar names. Meta’s latest tests suggest that the influence may reach beyond adding a video feature: the format could shape more of the experience of using its platforms.

For now, the report concerns some users in India, so it does not establish that the same test is running everywhere or that Meta will make it a permanent change. But it offers a concrete example of the company exploring what a more TikTok-like Facebook or Instagram might look like.