TikTok Shutting Down Instagram Rival TikTok Notes, Pushing Users to Lemon8

TikTok announces the shutdown of TikTok Notes on May 8, 2025, directing users to Lemon8, its photo-sharing app.
Matilda
TikTok Shutting Down Instagram Rival TikTok Notes, Pushing Users to Lemon8
TikTok recently made the decision to shut down TikTok Notes on May 8, 2025, a move that has left many users wondering about the future direction of TikTok’s strategy. TikTok Notes, launched last year as an Instagram competitor, was seen as a way for TikTok to tap into the photo-sharing space. However, it appears that the app didn’t gain enough traction to justify its continued existence. Image:Google The company has been actively notifying users of the shutdown and encouraging them to transition to Lemon8, another ByteDance-owned app that shares many features with TikTok Notes. Lemon8, which launched in Japan in 2020 and later expanded to other regions, offers users a space to share photo collections and slideshows, similar to platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Why is TikTok choosing Lemon8 as the replacement? The shift seems logical given the similarities between TikTok Notes and Lemon8, but there’s also a broader strategy at play. TikTok Notes didn’t manage to achieve widespread a…