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What is Douyin, aka TikTok, and why are stars like Angelababy and Ouyang Nana on it?

Taiwanese musician and actress Ouyang Nana, 19 is just one of the celebrities who has built up a huge social media following by using the video app Douyin, also known as TikTok. Photo: Douyin
Taiwanese musician and actress Ouyang Nana, 19 is just one of the celebrities who has built up a huge social media following by using the video app Douyin, also known as TikTok. Photo: Douyin

China’s social media platform launched in 2016, which can create and share lip-synch, comedy and viral challenge videos, has been downloaded more than 1 billion times

Douyin – the new king of social media platforms – is here.

The iOS and Android video app launched in China in September 2016 and in other global markets in 2017 – where it is known as TikTok – is used for creating and sharing things such as short lip-synch, comedy, and viral challenge videos.

It has quickly overtaken Facebook and Instagram to claim the top spot as the world’s most popular free iOS app.

According to Business of Apps, the app development and app industry news website, in just the first three months of last year Douyin was installed 800 million times, excluding Android users in China. Today it has been downloaded more than 1 billion times.

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Although it shares similarities with Vine, the once-trendy, now-discontinued short video hosting service, ByteDance, the Beijing based technology firm that developed Douyin/TikTok, has managed to do what Vine failed to achieve – capture a wider audience than simply the American market.

Douyin, the 15-second video recording social media platform, has become hugely popular in China. Photo: Simon Song
Douyin, the 15-second video recording social media platform, has become hugely popular in China. Photo: Simon Song

The 15-second video recording social platform has certainly captivated the China market and its huge popularity has seen many celebrities jump on the bandwagon to become regular users of the platform.

Check out 5 celebrity vloggers who have attracted millions of followers and countless likes by posting videos on Douyin.

Douyin, the video app known as TikTok outside China, was launched in September 2016. Photo: ByteDance
Douyin, the video app known as TikTok outside China, was launched in September 2016. Photo: ByteDance

1. Dear

It is no surprise that the cheeky, adorable star Dear, also known as Dilraba Dilmurat, is the queen of Douyin.

With more than a 150 million likes, Dear is undoubtedly the celebrity who boasts the most followers on the platform.