Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

ByteDance's Chinese version of TikTok hits 600 million daily users

Published 09/15/2020, 01:58 AM
Updated 09/15/2020, 02:00 AM

By Yingzhi Yang and Brenda Goh

BEIJING (Reuters) - Douyin, the Chinese version of short video app TikTok, hit 600 million daily active users in August, an executive with parent company ByteDance said on Tuesday, a 50% jump since the start of the year.

Users in China are not able to access the TikTok app, which is wildly popular with teenagers worldwide and the subject of a fierce rift between Beijing and Washington over security concerns, but can use Douyin, which is similar in design.

Four-year-old Douyin's more than 22 million creators have earned a total of 41.7 billion yuan ($6.15 billion) over the past year, ByteDance China chief executive officer Kelly Zhang said during an online conference. She said Douyin aimed to help them double that income over the next year.

Douyin's surge comes as TikTok faces a possible ban in the United States by the Trump administration, which wants ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. operations.

U.S.-listed Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) said on Monday it would team up with ByteDance, which could help keep TikTok operating in the United States.

Like TikTok, Douyin allows users to watch short videos and livestreams and make in-app purchases.

It is currently one of the most popular social media apps in China and its growth is seen as indicative of TikTok's potential evolution.

In comparison, China’s messaging app WeChat, which is owned by Tencent Holdings (OTC:TCEHY), said it had over 1 billion users using the app everyday in 2018. China had 1.6 billion monthly active mobile internet users as of May, according to market researcher QuestMobile.

ByteDance is considering listing its China business in Hong Kong or Shanghai, amid escalating tensions between world’s two largest economies, Reuters has reported. That listing plan was initiated after U.S. regulators started to review ByteDance’s acquisition of Musical.ly last year.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A TikTok logo is displayed on a smartphone

The bulk of ByteDance’s revenue is still generated in China, sources have told Reuters, mainly from ad income on Douyin and its Chinese news aggregator Jinri Toutiao.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.