TikTok earlier this month launched a brand new social app known as Whee, an Instagram-like service for taking pictures to share with mates. Like Instagram, Whee additionally helps using picture filters and contains messaging. Nevertheless, the corporate’s plans for Whee aren’t clear, because the app has comparatively few downloads and has but to promote itself by way of Apple’s Search Advertisements, in line with new knowledge from app intelligence agency Appfigures.
With out advertising and marketing help, new apps stay largely invisible on in the present day’s App Retailer. That seems to be the case for Whee, as nicely, which quietly launched June 18 in 71 nations worldwide. Because of the lack of promotion, Whee didn’t discover its approach into the High Free Apps chart on Apple’s App Retailer, nor did it instantly grow to be one of many High 500 Social apps in its supported markets, although that later modified.
Whee is linked to TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, however it’s revealed by TikTok itself, not its guardian, in line with its App Retailer itemizing.
As of Tuesday, Whee had solely gained 13,000 complete international downloads on iOS and someplace north of 10,000 Android downloads, per Google Play knowledge. It’s additionally clearly not being pushed within the U.S. in the intervening time, as its high markets on iOS embody Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Indonesia. Nonetheless, these nations are solely contributing a small variety of downloads.
As an illustration, the No. 1 market Malaysia delivered 2,400 downloads whereas Indonesia rounded up fifth place with simply 800 installs. Due to the small numbers, these are possible downloads from individuals who randomly got here throughout Whee whereas looking the App Retailer. In smaller markets with fewer apps, Whee made it into the High 500 Social apps, although by no means as excessive because the High 10 and principally nicely previous 50.
What’s extra, Appfigures says ByteDance hasn’t but tried to promote Whee by way of Apple’s Search Advertisements, which assist apps rank extremely when App Retailer customers seek for apps utilizing particular key phrases. There hasn’t been any Apple Search Advertisements exercise linked with Whee as of but, the agency discovered. As well as, consumer suggestions from those that discovered Whee can also be pretty tepid, because the app has an General score of three.6 out of 5 globally, throughout 31 App Retailer scores, solely 10 of which have opinions.
ByteDance has not commented on its plans for Whee, however the timing of the app’s launch has raised eyebrows provided that President Biden formally signed the TikTok ban into regulation in late April after the Home handed a revised invoice that compelled both a TikTok ban or sale. (TikTok has since sued the U.S. to dam the regulation from coming into impact, which is able to no less than delay the ban for a while whereas the legality is labored out within the courts.)
Whee’s arrival may very well be a plan B of kinds that enables ByteDance to keep up a social presence within the U.S., even when TikTok’s ban is upheld.
This isn’t the primary time ByteDance has tried to generate curiosity in different social apps exterior of TikTok. Earlier in 2023, the corporate quietly launched one other Instagram-like app, Lemon8 within the U.S. and U.Okay., and even paid TikTok influencers to put up in regards to the app so as to seed its preliminary content material. These efforts didn’t instantly repay; by November 2023, the app’s U.S. downloads on iOS had solely reached 2.5 million — nice numbers for a brand new startup, however nothing close to the dimensions of TikTok, which has over a billion month-to-month energetic customers, together with the 170 million within the U.S. Nevertheless, Lemon8 may very well be a slow-burn try at development. At this time, it’s the No. 2 Life-style app within the U.S., with practically 7.7 million iOS installs on this market.
ByteDance additionally operates one other widespread video app, CapCut, typically used for making TikTok movies. And it briefly dabbled with a BeReal rival, TikTok Now, although that was shut down after lower than a 12 months.
Whether or not Whee will comply with the identical playbook as Lemon8 stays to be seen. But when your favourite TikTok influencer begins randomly speaking about Whee sooner or later sooner or later, remember they had been most likely paid to take action.