Popular video streaming app, TikTok is stepping up its game by introducing a new text-only feature, directly challenging Elon Musk’s rebranded Twitter platform, X and Meta’s new Threads. The Chinese-owned app aims to provide its users with “another way to express themselves,” offering three options to post content: photos, videos, or text.

In addition to text posts, TikTok users can customize their content by adding sound, location, or engaging in Duets, which are video reactions to other users’ posts. According to a statement released by TikTok. on Monday, “these features make it so your text posts are just as dynamic and interactive as any video or photo post.”

This development comes shortly after TikTok launched its music streaming service, TikTok Music, in Brazil and Indonesia, with beta versions also being tested in Singapore, Mexico, and Australia.  The streaming service would allow users “listen, share and download the music they have discovered on TikTok, as well as share their favourite tracks and artists with their TikTok community,” Spokesman for TikTok said.

Notably, other social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Elon Musk’s X have already been supporting text posts. Meta’s Threads platform, in particular, has achieved remarkable success, garnering over 100 million users within five days of its launch on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries, including the UK.

Meanwhile, TikTok is also experimenting with additional features, such as a new landscape mode, which is being tested with a limited group of users worldwide. This feature in particular is expected to be in direct competition with rival platforms like YouTube.

As the competition in the social media and tech industry intensifies, users can look forward to more innovative features and services from these technology giants. TikTok’s foray into text-only posts is another step towards offering a diverse range of expression options to its vast user base.