11/10/2022
Douyin and TikTok are owned by the same Chinese unicorn, Bytedance, worth $275 billion (data updated in Aug 2022). However, despite ByteDance’s efforts to make them appear as if they are one app, Douyin and TikTok are two different entities.
Douyin was launched by ByteDance in Beijing, China, in September 2016. Douyin was originally under the name A.me. In December 2016, the name was changed to Douyin. Next, ByteDance intended for Douyin to go global. ByteDance acquired Musical.ly to build a sizable video community and unveiled TikTok in September 2017. Finally, it relaunched the app after combining TikTok and Musical.ly.
These two apps were also created to accommodate China’s data localization controls. Tiktok is unavailable to Chinese users. As a result, to access Tiktok with a virtual location enabled, Chinese users in China need a VPN. Furthermore, Chinese outside China favour using Douyin over Tiktok for language and culture. In terms of e-commerce, Douyin has made more progress than TikTok. For example, users can purchase items mentioned in a video, book a hotel room after watching a recorded video or take virtual trips to local shops and restaurants to receive coupons.