When was TikTok launched?

Beijing-based ByteDance, founded by Zhang Yiming, launched the short-video app Douyin in China in September 2016. An international version called TikTok followed in 2017. In November 2017 ByteDance bought the lip-syncing app Musical.ly for a reported sum of about $1 billion, and on 2 August 2018 it merged Musical.ly’s users into TikTok. Its recommendation algorithm, which serves videos on the “For You” page based on viewing behaviour rather than who you follow, fuelled explosive growth. TikTok announced it had passed one billion monthly active users in September 2021.