TikTok will shut down its TikTok Notes app, which was intended to compete with Instagram, on May 8, 2025. The photo-sharing app was launched in test mode in Canada, Australia and Vietnam last year, TechCrunch reports.
The company is informing TikTok Notes users of its decision to shut down the app and redirecting them to Lemon8, also owned by ByteDance. The developer promises to take all TikTok Notes feedback into account and improve Lemon8.
While TikTok didn’t give a specific reason for shutting down TikTok Notes, it’s likely that the company didn’t see much adoption of the tool and decided to focus on promoting Lemon8. By the way, as of December 2024, Lemon8 had about 12.5 million monthly active users worldwide.
In a message to TikTok Notes users, the company said the decision to shut down the app "was not made lightly." The message encourages users to download and save their TikTok Notes data and "continue sharing your creativity on Lemon8."
Last November, the company allowed users to access Lemon8 directly through their TikTok accounts and launched a photo sharing feature between the apps, a move ByteDance saw as a way to move creators to the new platform without having to register separately, in case TikTok was banned in the US.
Recall that US President Donald Trump said on March 31 that a deal to sell TikTok would be concluded by April 5, 2025.