TikTok wants to customize avatars, and adds several creation tools

TikTok will innovate. The platform would indeed have planned to implement several new features in its service, ranging from avatar customization, to online help for content creation. Spotted by analyst Matt Navarra, most of these new features are already in the development phase, while others are still in the pipeline.

Customize your avatar

⚡️ New TikTok Features Thread

1. TikTok is working on a TikTok Avatars feature

The feature lets you use your phone’s camera to take a selfie with a fun facial expression which your avatar will match.

You would be able to fully customize the look of your avatar. pic.twitter.com/DzJ2soRBDi

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) January 24, 2022

First feature described by Matt Navarra, and undoubtedly the one that will have the greatest impact on the daily life of users: the possibility of personalizing their avatar. Asked by TechCrunch, a spokesperson confirmed the rumours, explaining: “We are always thinking of new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience.”

Facilitate lives

Another major tool that could be deployed on the platform in the future is internal social network creation software, called TikTok Live Studio. The idea is not new, since it had already been mentioned last month. However, it could now be enriched with several features, by adopting – like Twitch – emotes and a comments section reserved for subscribers. Private chat groups could also emerge.

2. Keyword filtering for feeds
TikTok may soon let you add keywords or hashtags to filter out from your feeds

When you add a keyword filter, TikTok will no longer show you videos containing the word in a video’s description or stickers in your FYP or Following feeds pic.twitter.com/CN3XCRhELj

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) January 24, 2022

To ensure the safety of streamers and streamers, a tool intended to filter unwanted keywords could also be implemented soon. A way for TikTok to consolidate the safe space it dreams of, while allowing Internet users to have a little more control over the content displayed in the For you section. Again, the idea is not new: last December, TikTok already indicated in a blog post to work on “a feature that would allow people to choose words or hashtags associated with content that they don’t want to see in their feed”. Note also that according to information from Matt Navarra, TikTok could also decide to bet on live audio streams.

Obviously, all of these tools may not find their place on TikTok. The company is currently in the middle of an experimentation phase, and could ultimately decide never to make them a reality. However, we can expect to see them arrive at a group of restricted users in the coming weeks, if only to experiment with the idea on a large scale.