TikTok Alternatives Coming in 2025

As TikTok went dark for users in the US, the need for alternatives to TikTok became more urgent.

The next few months will be challenging for the 7 million+ US content creators who rely on TikTok as a source of income. For many of them, migrating to a Meta platform will be a backwards step.

That's why I wanted to round up all the TikTok alternatives I'm aware of, including many open-source projects. Some of these apps are not yet released, but I think they could offer a true alternative as they come to market and mature.

I'm also going to include Instagram alternatives in this list since some of them may support video once they're released.

RedNote (Little Red Book)

Thousands of US creators have already moved to Xiaohongshu (RedNote). Today, it's probably the closest thing to a TikTok alternative that is live and functional.

I've had an account on RedNote for a few weeks, so I can continue to follow US TikTok users, no matter what happens with the ban. And the majority of creators I follow on RedNote are translating their English captions into Chinese.

Many Chinese users are generously commenting in both Chinese and English, and even teaching new users basic Mandarin to help them navigate the app.

That said, I don't think anyone is expecting migrating to be a long-term solution. The sheer volume of people who have created accounts on RedNote has already drawn attention to the platform, and it could be the target of another ban in the future.

For now, I've enjoyed seeing how welcoming the Chinese users have been as users from other countries have joined their conversations.

Bluesky

Bluesky looks and feels like Twitter in the late 2000s. It's primarily a text-based microblogging service and has picked up 28+ million users so far.

The main question my friends have asked me is whether it shows you posts in chronological order, like the olden days of social media. Yes, it does.

It also has customisable feeds, block lists, subscribe lists, and all kinds of other features that make it feel like a social media app that you control.

It's also very easy to migrate from Twitter to Bluesky. There's a free Chrome extension to help you find the accounts you were following before.

Until now, Bluesky hasn't focused on media content, so it wasn't a great alternative to TikTok. But as of yesterday, Bluesky added a new trending video feed.

You can find trending videos on the Search page in the Bluesky app. From there, you can pin the feed.

Then, in Settings, you can move the video feed up so it's easier to access.

The new feed could offer TikTok creators more visibility on Bluesky when they cross-post, so I definitely recommend checking it out.

(Extra tip: if you don't like the Bluesky app, try Skeets.)

Pixelfed

Pixelfed looks and feels like Instagram, back in the good old days. This social media app has a simple feed that isn't interrupted by promoted content and ads.

Its Kickstarter is scheduled to launch on January 22nd, 2025.

Pixelfed is part of the Fediverse and uses the ActivityPub protocol, meaning it's open source and decentralised like Bluesky. However, the two protocols are not directly compatible.

When I tested it, I could post photos, but I don't think it supports video content yet.

I'm finding it difficult to find people I know on Pixelfed, and I think that's reflected in the low engagement in my feed. Despite that, Meta seems rattled by its existence. It has been blocking all links to it from Meta platforms and marking them as spam.

Skylight

Skylight is a TikTok alternative that uses the AT protocol - the same protocol behind Bluesky.

This project seems to be the closest to a direct TikTok alternative that I've seen so far, and the fact that it's open source is appealing.

It seems to be coming together very quickly, too. Right now, the developers are looking for beta testers so they can get Skylight onto app stores as soon as possible.

Likes and follows in Skylight will be mirrored in Bluesky, which is an important benefit because Bluesky already has some traction. And the content you share is yours.

Skylight may be a natural home for people who choose to move away from TikTok. I know a ton of people are watching it closely, and Skylight is interested in getting investment to develop its own algorithm. It'll be interesting to try it - we may not have long to wait.

Neptune

Neptune is another potential TikTok alternative app. Like Skylight, it will use the AT protocol.

It sounds like the Neptune team don't want to align quite as closely with TikTok and will emphasise community-building features over quick interactions.

The developers have apparently confirmed that they are working on a live-streaming feature that will integrate with OBS.

They say on their website that the algorithm will be user-customizable, and the app will support monetization.

This could be an interesting alternative for businesses that rely on platforms like TikTok, Mighty Networks, and Circle.

You can get updates on the Neptune website.

Tik

Tik is another alternative to TikTok that'll be based on the AT protocol.

The early demo videos show that it works similarly. But the app is in the very early stages of development, so I was unable to find much detail other than a few short videos showing the prototype feed.

The developers have said they'll be launching on the web first, with apps to follow later.

Flashes

Flashes is an Instagram alternative based on the AT protocol. The experience looks very much like Instagram, based on the early demo videos.

It's being developed by the team behind the Skeets app.

I really like the feature that extracts text from images, as demonstrated in this video:

Currently, it looks like Flashes only supports image posts and not video. But it's early days. Flashes is due to go into Testflight beta at the end of January.

Bluescreen

From the developers behind Flashes comes Bluescreen, another AT protocol project build specifically for short videos.

Again, not much to share about this one yet, but it only went into development a couple of days ago. One to follow on Bluesky!

Loops

Finally, a quick mention for a Fediverse app called Loops.

It promises to be a true TikTok alternative for the Fediverse, and it comes from the developers at Pixelfed.

You can join the Testflight beta here.