With the DMs now standing out as a more significant engagement part, particularly across Instagram, TikTok will look to cash in on the same behavior trend by updating its own set of direct messaging features.

TikTok rolls out stickers in its DMs, including video stickers made up of TikTok clips and user-created sticker sets that can be shared by other users within the application.
Where you can upload your sticker creations, and see how many of them have been used by other users in the app.

This could be a new form of artistic expression, and at the same time, give artists another way to engage, bringing a new wave in the app.

TikTok is also rolling out its very own version of group chats and the capacity for users now to make chat groups up to 32 participants.

Now you can select up to 31 friends to discuss in groups through the DM options menu. Additionally, a group chat can be initiated directly from a video within the application by tapping the "Share" button and selecting "Create group chat with friends."

The choice is limited to reciprocal follows, and TikTok has also added various safety measures, especially for the young audiences (the feature is not available to people between 13 and 15 years). But it could also be another step to making more reliance on TikTok as a tool for connection and not just a platform of pure entertainment.

Though that can also be where it falls short in using DMs.

Indeed, on other apps the concern has long been your social graph and connecting with friends and family, and that has never really been part of TikTok's make-up. It would then appear to be a significant shift to really get people involving them in DM chats in the app.

But maybe it is the immediacy of the choice that users will like- to share directly into of TikTok, without the tap of a share icon and navigating in some other chat group.

Even in personal terms, I don't believe it. I think TikTok probably left its DM push a little too late since the majority of the users are already settled into their chats within other apps in which they would be more likely to stay than open the whole new one.

So to really make this thing happen for TikTok, it might need something a little flashier to get people more excited about their DMs. That's probably going to be user-generated stickers; however, it seems much more likely that people just keep engaging by sharing TikTok clips to other chats rather than commencing a new chat group.

But perhaps younger audiences may find some different value in it, and maybe there will be some form of a DM shift like we're seeing occur in other apps.

I don't know, just seems a bit unfinished for what TikTok does-they know it probably will not get off, but they are going to give it a shot anyway.