It looks like the number of sign-ups for ByteDance's Instagram-like "Lemon8" app is stalling, and the company is resorting to utilizing TikTok to sell sign-ups for Lemon8.
Today, the company running TikTok announced that TikTok users will now be able to access Lemon8 directly from their TikTok account, using login credentials for each app.
Here is how that will work, explained by TikTok:
However, while the separate app itself will be maintained, TikTok and Lemon8 will share a single sign-on across users. This will mean that creators would be able to use one account to get onto either platform, which should enhance the easy sharing of content between applications, and it is intended to make photo sharing more possible and seamless for all creators on TikTok to increase its reach and potential for engagement.
Lemon8, which became a sensation in the United States last year, is a mix of Instagram and Pinterest, reflecting the company's efforts to find ways to capitalize on it to expand its user reach in the West.
The app itself launched in 2020 and has been somewhat popular in Asian countries. But based on the increase interest in the app last year, along with ByteDance's broader in-stream shopping push, the company had hoped to establish another major app to pair with TikTok.
That doesn't seem to work yet. Leveraging TikTok for sign-ups on Lemon8 is pretty comparable to what Instagram did with Threads, whose new user sign-ups broke record high for apps. And in similarity to the IG, TikTok also has a user base of well over a billion, making easy road access through creating a Lemon8 account using credentials from a log-in with TikTok-a convenient way to get people interested in and back on the road again for Lemon8.
As for Lemon8, it adds nothing new. Threads had also gained enough steam for those who wanted something like X, but Lemon8 isn't actually an alternative to anything but a copy of elements already existing in a few other apps.
Even so, streamlined account creation will no doubt up sign-ups, and that could help to make the platform a more relevant consideration again.
Well, at least it will get more people to look at the application, because it is easy to create an account for TikTok users. So, it's a good strategy, though I don't quite see Lemon8 as a major player to be considered soon.
Also, should it become something bigger, then Meta will just "Lemon9", so.