TikTok plans to shut down TikTok Now, its BeReal clone unveiled in September 2022, without giving a reason; user estimates suggest that BeReal has faded in 2023
TikTok is killing off its BeReal clone TikTok Now, according to notifications being sent to users.
Context & Ripple Effects
TikTok launched Now in September 2022 as a direct clone of BeReal's dual-camera daily prompt, and Sensor Tower data showed it reaching the top 10 social networking apps in 39 countries within days of debut. Less than a year later, TikTok is notifying users it will shut the feature down, giving no reason.
The backdrop is that the format it copied has collapsed on its own terms: Apptopia estimates put BeReal's daily users under 6M in March 2023, down from roughly 15M in October 2022, as users found the authenticity premise monotonous. TikTok is retiring a clone of an app that is itself fading.
First-order effects
- TikTok Now users lose the daily dual-camera prompt inside the main app, and TikTok folds the experiment back into its core For You feed with no stated rationale.
Second-order effects
- BeReal loses the backhanded validation of being cloned by the largest short-video platform — but with TikTok exiting the format entirely, no major player is left competing on daily authentic posts, narrowing BeReal's differentiation even as its usage declines.
Third-order effects
- The shutdown fits a broader TikTok pruning pattern alongside the planned TikTok Music shutdown and the wind-down of Creator Marketplace: features that don't hit core-feed engagement get killed quickly, which raises the risk calculus for startups whose entire product is a single copyable format.
The trend: Major social platforms are running a clone-and-prune cycle — rapidly copying viral formats, then retiring them within a year when engagement doesn't justify maintenance — which leaves standalone apps like BeReal holding formats the giants have already abandoned.