TikTok is pulling the plug on its photo-sharing app, TikTok Notes, just over a year after it quietly entered limited testing as a potential competitor to Instagram. The platform, which allowed users to post photos with captions and browse a personalized feed of recommended content, will officially shut down on May 8, 2025, according to a notification sent out to users.
Initially rolled out in April 2024, TikTok Notes aimed to tap into the visual-first format popularized by Instagram. The app was designed with a familiar interface — complete with photo posts, captions, and a “For You” feed — and was first made available only in Australia and Canada. Despite early comparisons to Instagram, Notes never gained widespread traction, remaining in limited release throughout its lifespan.
The message to users described the decision to discontinue TikTok Notes as a difficult one, but emphasized that the app’s closure would allow TikTok to focus on other content-sharing platforms. Specifically, the company is now directing users to Lemon8, another app under the umbrella of TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.
While TikTok Notes focused exclusively on photo sharing, Lemon8 is positioned as a hybrid platform for both photos and short-form videos. It leans heavily into lifestyle categories — such as beauty, fashion, food, travel, and pets — and was previously promoted by ByteDance as a creative alternative for users looking for more curated, aesthetic-driven content.
In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said that some of the lessons and user feedback gathered from Notes will be carried over to Lemon8 as part of ByteDance’s ongoing effort to offer spaces tailored for different types of content. “We’re excited to bring the feedback from TikTok Notes to Lemon8 as we continue building a dedicated space for our community to share and experience photo content,” the company said.
The closure of TikTok Notes comes at a time when the social media landscape continues to shift rapidly. Platforms are experimenting with format hybrids, blending text, video, and photo-based features in an attempt to maintain user engagement. TikTok itself remains a dominant force in short-form video, but the Notes experiment highlights the challenges even major platforms face when trying to enter new territory.
It’s unclear how many users the app had during its brief time online, as TikTok did not share user numbers or engagement data. However, its shutdown follows a broader trend of tech companies quietly sunsetting less successful side projects while concentrating resources on more promising platforms.
Users who still have TikTok Notes installed will likely see app functionality begin to wind down in the coming weeks ahead of the full shutdown on May 8. After that, all associated features and content will become inaccessible.
For now, ByteDance appears focused on evolving Lemon8 as its flagship lifestyle platform, hoping to carry forward the creative energy from TikTok Notes into a more versatile and widely supported environment.
