TikTok is planning to introduce a paywall among other features in an attempt to attract new users, according to The Information’s reporting.
In addition to the paywall, TikTok is working on the Creator Fund 2.0 — a new version of the original Creator Fund it launched in 2020 — that will pay creators with more than 100,000 followers in an effort to keep them on the platform, insiders told The Information. One person told the publication that the new fund could launch as early as March.
The platform also wants to grow its user base by attracting older users. Only 21% of US adults currently use TikTok, according to a 2021 Pew Research study, compared to 67% of US teenagers, according to a 2022 Pew Research poll. The app hopes to get that older audience by introducing professionally generated content — videos that are more polished than ones shot on amateurs’ smartphones — current and former employees told The Information.
“We’re committed to exploring new ways to create a valuable and rewarding experience for the TikTok creator community,” a TikTok spokesperson said without commenting on the specific features.
TikTok’s ascent to a global phenomenon has been incredibly quick. The app’s worldwide user base more than doubled between 2019 and 2021, going from 291.4 million to 655.9 million. Its adult base has however hit a plateau in western countries where it is hugely popular.
Kenya has some of the highest numbers of TikTok users in Africa, with over 8 million registered on the application. World Population Review (WPR) shows that 27 percent of the Kenyan population of 54,027,487 is on TikTok. The majority, however, use the application to watch funny videos, while others sell products
