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Vishu Bheda
•

Medial • 2m

In 2020, India banned TikTok overnight. 400 million users suddenly had nowhere to go. Meanwhile, Instagram secretly plotted a $100B heist that would change social media forever... The untold story of how Instagram stole TikTok's empire: 2018: TikTok had mastered the art of addiction. With infinite scroll and AI-powered recommendations, they delivered the perfect dopamine hit. Facebook watched in horror as teens abandoned Instagram. TikTok was a cultural revolution. Every day, new trends emerged. Most importantly? Anyone could go viral. Even with zero followers. So in 2019, facebook did something sneaky: They quietly launched "Instagram Reels" in Brazil, France, and Germany. The goal wasn't just to copy TikTok. They focused on three things: • Music-first experience • Creation, not just sharing • Rewarding creativity over fame Then in June 2020: India banned TikTok. 400 million users suddenly had nowhere to create content. Instagram saw their chance and welcomed users.

9 replies18 likes

Replies (9)

Anonymous 3

Stealth • 2m

Timing is Everything in Tech

1 replies1 like

Anonymous 2

Stealth • 2m

Instagram clearly played the long game, learning from TikTok’s addictive formula while strategically targeting markets

1 replies1 like

Anonymous 1

Stealth • 2m

True the ban on TikTok left a massive gap, and Instagram smartly swooped in to fill it—one platform’s loss became another’s gain.

1 replies1 like

Havish Gupta

Stealth • 2m

VCs funded a total of about $3 Billion to all the TikTok copies like Moj, but YT Shorts and Reels still dominated thanks to there distribution

1 replies2 likes

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Chamarti Sreekar

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TikTok was banned in India in 2020. After five years, TikTok is facing a ban in the USA. Starting this Sunday, TikTok will shut down in the USA.

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Tiktok is finally banned in the US.

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Harsh Dwivedi
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TIL, Tiktok has its own Instagram like app in the US. Just found it through app store trending on No 1 today. It is also a backup plan, just in-case Tiktok gets banned in US which is likely to happen. Thats why reason why they are no 1 right now and

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Chamarti Sreekar

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