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TikTok is announcing a new feature that will let users embed mini apps, called Jumps, into their videos. For example, if someone is making a cooking video, they could embed a link to the recipe app Whisk, which would allow viewers to pull up a recipe sheet inside of TikTok with the tap of a button. The feature is currently being tested, with only a select group of creators having the ability to embed a Jump into their videos, but TikTok says it will be rolling out the feature after more testing.
When watching a video with a Jump, viewers will see a button near the bottom of the screen, which will then open the content on a new screen within TikTok. Creators making a video will be able to choose a Jump to add and will then be able to customize the content that viewers see after tapping on the Jump. You can see what that process looks like below, along with how it ends up looking for users:
The company has been testing Jumps semi in public for the past few months, but it’s now rolling out to a wider group of people. During development and the beta period, TikTok worked with a select group of companies to develop Jumps, including Whisk, Wikipedia, and Tabelog. In its announcement, TikTok says companies including BuzzFeed and IRL will have Jumps coming soon, and it’s opening up applications for developers who want to create their own experiences. TikTok told The Verge that anyone can apply, but it’ll be evaluating submissions based on how useful it thinks they’ll be to its viewers.
TikTok told The Verge that currently all of the members of its Creator Fund can add a Jump to their videos, and it’ll be monitoring how each Jump performs. To start, there are six that creators can use to enhance their content.
TikTok isn’t the first company to introduce the idea of small, app-like experiences on a video platform; Snapchat has a similar feature it calls Minis, which allows users to share and use small apps and games with friends. Like Jumps, Minis are creating using HTML5, which should make the process of creating one relatively simple for those familiar with web development experience. Snapchat also recently added the ability to easily install apps from its TikTok-esque feature.
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