TikTok is back, isn’t it? After pulling down service yesterday (Sunday) morning, TikTok restored it in the afternoon with the notice, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
TikTok notice on Jan. 19, 2025
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the law requiring the owner of TikTok, China-based ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations to avoid a U.S. ban. The law went into effect on Sunday.
By midmorning on Sunday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, “I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security.”
While President Trump’s executive order on Monday should stop the enforcement of the ban, the liability of third parties, such as hosting platforms or app stores, is unclear. Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated during the Supreme Court hearings, “Whatever the new president does doesn’t change that reality for these companies.”
Regardless, brands and merchants have options for social commerce. Here is a list of TikTok alternatives featuring short video and live-streaming formats. Some have monetization features, and others have full ecommerce functionality similar to TikTok Shop.
TikTok Alternatives
RedNote is a China-based lifestyle and social networking app popular for product recommendations and tips on beauty, fashion, and travel. RedNote (i.e., “Xiaohongshu”) is designed for shopping. Products can be tagged within posts, making it easy for followers to click and purchase within the app. RedNote features a discovery search for lifestyle content, notes for blogging, a split-screen for collaboration, video and live-streaming content, and integrated ecommerce functionality. RedNote is currently the number 1 social networking app in Apple’s App Store. RedNote says its network supports 300 million users per month.
RedNote
Instagram Reels stands to gain the most users from any sustained TikTok shutdown, as the Meta app already dominates the social media landscape. Users can use Reels to create multi-clip videos up to 90 seconds and add text, augmented-reality filters, and audio. Users can start live-streaming by swiping right in the feed and then scrolling to Live. Users can also use Shops to open a storefront on a business profile, along with product tags to distribute shoppable content.
Amazon Live enables brands and creators to produce shoppable live and on-demand videos that span multiple categories, including home, beauty, electronics, and shopping events like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. Streams on Amazon Live can appear on the Amazon home page, in the “Amazon Live” section of the website, or on a seller’s or influencer’s storefront. Products featured in Amazon Live will appear in a carousel at the bottom of the stream. Any registered brand partner is eligible to stream using the Amazon Live Creator app. These livestreams will appear on a brand’s Amazon Store for 30 days and can be viewed live and on-demand on Amazon.com/live.
Flip is a social shopping app to discover products from brands. U.S. direct-to-consumer companies can apply to join the exclusive list of sellers and integrate an existing ecommerce platform with Flip to sync a product catalog. Users can also become creators and earn money by sharing their shopping experiences. Flip charges a percentage fee on all sales generated through the platform. The fee is based on the product category.
Flip
YouTube Shopping allows eligible creators to showcase their products and branded merchandise. Viewers can browse and buy products from the channel’s store, in video descriptions, and in collections — as well via a shopping button in videos, shorts, and livestreams. Creators can showcase products by linking to their channel store or creating and sharing Shopping Collections, which will appear in a creator’s product list, store tab, and video description.
Whatnot is a social marketplace for selling products via live-streamed auctions. During a livestream, sellers can list items (i) for auction, (ii) in their Buy It Now store, or (iii) as giveaways. Users can attend live auctions and deep dive with other collectors and like-minded shoppers. Sellers have several tools for livestreams, including Zoom, Facecam, and a randomizer spin wheel for offering promotions and driving engagement. Sellers can access performance analytics.
Clapper is a short-form video and live-streaming app to provide authentic communication and expression. Use the Duet Live feature to bring on a follower and interact in real-time, and use the radio feature for an audio-only room of up to 2,000 listeners and 20 speakers. Create a group community of fans to interact with. The Clapper Shop allows creators to list and sell products. Add and promote your product, and it will appear on the livestream screen for anyone to buy.
Fanbase is an ad-free social hub for creators to generate subscription revenue by sharing posts, short- and long-form videos, stories, and live audio and video streaming. Fanbase offers a 3-step tool to help TikTok creators migrate their content. Post exclusive content available to monthly subscribers for prices ranging from $2.99 to $99. Users discover content through trending topics, interests, and favorited creators. Users can also join livestreams and chat with others or head into the audio rooms.
Fanbase
Likee is a platform for sharing short-form videos and livestreams. Likee features augmented-reality filters to apply in videos and livestreams, editing effects, and an extensive music library. Creators can monetize content through SuperLikes and establish SuperFollow subscribers with customizable monthly subscription prices. Likee says it has over 150 million monthly active users worldwide.
Triller is a video-sharing social networking app similar to TikTok’s music-sharing core. Utilizing Triller’s auto-editing algorithm, creators can shoot a few takes, tap the “Next” button, apply 100-plus video filters, and add music. The platform will then combine it all into a shareable video. Creators can also produce live video streams. Users can share or distribute via Instagram, Facebook, X, SMS, and email. Triller does not have monetization or ecommerce functionality, but it has launched a SaveMyTikToks.com website to help creators back up content by migrating it to Triller.
Neptune is a soon-to-be-released social networking and video-sharing beta app for creators and community-centric connections. Neptune features (i) a customizable algorithm that allows users to tailor their experience for relevant content and (ii) ghost metrics that measure the quality of content instead of just follower counts. Neptune maintains it will help users develop lasting connections. Neptune also claims that its monetization will be transparent and equitable to creators. Register to get access to the beta launch.
CommentSold is a live-selling social-commerce platform similar to a TikTok Shop. Merchants can start a live-selling broadcast and distribute it simultaneously to their social networks (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), website, mobile app, and Shopify store. CommentSold’s features include (i) automatically generated video content for products with live selling segments, (ii) actionable data insights on inventory, customers, and finances, and (iii) expert guidance from strategists. Shoppers comment “Sold” or click the product highlighted on a live video to add it to their cart without leaving the stream. Sellers create shoppable videos with PopClips, which highlight and tag up to five products per video.
CommentSold