Exact Answer: Since 2016
There are over a gazillion apps right now in the world since the invention of smartphones and laptops. In the old days, there were not as many electronic appliances on which the Internet can be accessed along with other applications. Before the invention of the Internet, everything was manually done by a human, but after the invention of these apps, all the work was done on laptops and mobile phones using these apps. There are apps available to do practically anything and everything in the world right now.
Some apps are used for professional purposes, while some are used for passing time and entertainment. Although, some apps can be used both professionally and for entertainment, and one among them which was recently released, is TikTok.
How Long Has TikTok Been Around?
| Timeline | Time |
| Release in the Chinese Market | 2016 |
| Launched for iOS and Android | 2017 |
| Stable Release | 2021 |
TikTok is a Chinese app, which was developed by ByteDance. The app was initially released with the option of making short videos of about 15 seconds to 3 minutes, which can be edited in forms of both audio and video. Later, people who use the app realized that, when something is posted on TikTok, it reaches millions instantly.
Intelligent people started using that to get across information, news, facts in a funny way, and some used the app to become famous by showcasing their talents to the world in a way it cannot be ignored. As time passed by, the usage of TikTok increased, and it became more and more popular among all the countries very fast. Another good thing about TikTok is that they are completely free, storage-friendly, virus-free, and run smoothly.
TikTok was first initially released in September 2016, but the stable release of the app was on 18th October 2021. Yet, it has been in use since 2016. TikTok can be installed and used on both Android and iOS. The size of the app is about 442 MB on iOS and just 88 MB on Android. Another fact about TikTok is that they are available in 40 languages.
The app belongs to the genre of video sharing, the website of the app is tiktok.com. TikTok is known as Douyin in China and is considered as a social media, or technology as a social networking service developed and owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Why Has TikTok Been Around That Long?
Douyin is the Chinese version of TikTok, and Douyin was the first one to be released in the Chinese market, and seeing the success of the app, the international version named TikTok was released.
TikTok was launched in 2017 after the success of Douyin in 2016 and it was first released in the Chinese markets. Though TikTok was released in 2017 initially, it was made worldwide in 2018, when it merged with Musical.ly, on August 2nd. Though TikTok is the international version of Douyin, the user interfaces are completely different and do not have any sort of access to one other. The servers of these apps are based in the market in which they are available and there are many features available in both versions.
The app gained popularity very fast in many parts of South and East Asia, the USA, Southeast Asia, Turkey, Russia, and according to a recent census taken in 2020, over 2 billion people downloaded the app on their mobile phones. Unfortunately, TikTok cannot be installed on laptops, the app is only available for mobile phones.
Conclusion
Usually, the duration of the videos can be about 15 seconds to three minutes. TikTok offers thousands of audio options, video filters and though the duration is just 15 seconds to 3 minutes, there is a lot of options from which a person can choose to make their videos.
Using these different features, the users can make videos that are eye-catching, funny and also get the message across in a hilarious yet serious way. Though TikTok was just stably released in 2016 and 2020, they are, according to Morning Consult, is the third fastest-growing app/brand in the world, after Zoom and Peacock and the developers are still making changes and developments.
