• by Colin Kirkland , April 11, 2023

After deciding to replace its Discover section with a “Friends” tab last May, a move that aimed to connect users with people they knew, TikTok is now testing a new experience that would resort back to spotlighting content discovery in the same vein as Instagram's “Explore” page.

The “Friends” replacement feature, was discovered by Watchful.ai, a product intelligence firm, and first reported by TechCrunch, allows users to scroll and explore videos in a grid and may become a platform for ads, similar to Instagram.

According to screenshots taken by Watchful.ai, TikTok’s version of Explore is less colorful than Instagram’s and includes white space, text and a limited amount of content featured on screen at a time.

TikTok responded to initial reports that it is currently testing the Explore feed in a few regions globally with select users.

Reports show that TikTok users have not been keen on seeing videos from accounts they know as much as they desire new content from strangers. By replacing its Friends tab with an Explore-copycat, the app may provide what its billion global users want most.

“The change, if rolled out more broadly, could signal the company’s acceptance of the role TikTok plays in the social app ecosystem,” noted TechCrunch. “One that is about content discovery, not keeping up with real-world friendships.”

In line with this point, TikTok has recently launched or begun testing specified feeds for sports, fashion, gaming, food and STEM-focused content such as science and math. /p>