Facebook launches short-form video TikTok clone

Facebook has quietly released an app aimed at competing with TikTok, the 15-second video app that merged with Musical.ly earlier in 2018, as it looks to bring teenagers back into its user base.

Word that Facebook was developing the app surfaced last month when TechCrunch reported that Facebook was building a standalone video product for users to record and share themselves dancing and lip-syncing to music.

The app, called ‘Lasso’, has now launched with little fanfare or fuss – there’s merely a tweet from a Facebook product manager. Nonetheless, Lasso is now available on both Android and iOS but, for the time being, is only open to people in the US.

“Lasso is a new standalone app for short-form, entertaining videos — from comedy to beauty to fitness and more,” said a Facebook spokesperson. “We’re excited about the potential here, and we’ll be gathering feedback from people and creators.”

Those who have downloaded Lasso can sign in either via Instagram or Facebook. Once signed in, there’s a stream of auto-playing short videos to pass through and content can be filtered with tags. In addition, users are able to share their videos as stories on Facebook, with sharing to Instagram stories set to arrive later.

Source: Mobile Marketing Magazine

  App, Digital, Facebook, Lasso, Marketing, Mobile, Musical.ly, Short-Form Video, Social Media, TikTok, USA