Nearly 10 years later, Tumblr TV was released to everyone as an alternative to TikTok
In 2015, the blogging site Tumblr It launched a GIF discovery feature called Tumblr TV As a trial product. Now, with TikTok banned in the United States Leaving the fate of the short video app uncertain, Tumblr decided it was finally time to launch Tumblr TV, which has since evolved to support video, to all of its users as one of its standard features.
Company on Tuesday Announce The product has emerged from its home of beta projects known as Tumblr Labs, explaining how the tab will become available to everyone. New users will see the tab in a fairly prominent third position in the app. Meanwhile, existing users will be able to turn Tumblr TV on or off on their phones Dashboard tabs Tumblr said configuration settings.
The decision to promote a video product from an experience to a core feature nearly 10 years after its inception has a lot to do with the demand for… Tik Tok alternatives Following the US law that banned the app and other Chinese-owned apps in the country.
Although the application of this ban is currently suspended after that President Trump intervenedIt is still unclear whether TikTok will agree to a deal or not – Although that it a lot Suitors – To keep the application live in the US after the 75-day deadline has expired.
He loves Many applicationsTumblr noted that it saw a significant increase in the number of users joining its service on the day of the TikTok ban on January 19, a company spokesperson told TechCrunch. As a result, the blogging service saw a roughly 35% increase in iOS app installs and a 70% increase in new users joining Communities, a feature that allows users to join different groups focused on specific interests.
In fact, some newcomers have founded Tumblr communities, e.g TikTok warehouseaimed at those who want a place to backup and share their TikTok videos. another society, TikTok refugeesThe company said it was active with both new and returning users.
However, as a competitor to TikTok, TumblrTV falls short. Although the company made several improvements when the service was a lab feature — including adding lightbox support, improved redaction, and video support — the final product bears little resemblance to TikTok, where original creator content dominates.
Tumblr’s video feed allows for scroll-based vertical navigation within its channels (such as art or sports) when viewed on mobile, similar to TikTok. But GIFs in full-screen mode are naturally grainy, while many highlight videos aren’t formatted for portrait viewing because they were never recorded for a portrait video app in the first place.
However, the company hopes that video streaming will make TikTok users feel at home if they decide to move to Tumblr.
Of course, with TikTok back online in the US right now, demand for the backup app will likely diminish.
