TikTok is testing a new ‘Nearby’ feed where users can easily find local content

Photo credit: Jonathan Kemper / Unsplash

Friday, August 26, 2022 9:50 AM UTC

TikTok might soon help users easily find content based on their location and interests. ByteDance, the developer of the app, confirmed it is testing a “Nearby” feed that appears to be designed for local content.

The feature in the making was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra. “This is in conjunction with a new option giving creators the ability to add a location tag to videos,” Navarra said. He added that TikTok’s upcoming Nearby feed could be ByteDance’s response to Snapchat’s Snap Map feature, as well as Instagram’s searchable photo map.

TikTok is working on a NEW ‘Nearby’ / ‘Local’ feed.

This is in conjunction with a new option giving creators the ability to add a location tag to videos.

TikTok is playing catch-up with Snapchat’s Snap map and Instagram’s recently launched searchable photo map features.
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) August 22, 2022

Mekanism’s Brendan Gahan later shared a screenshot, showing the Nearby feed on TikTok. It appears on the left side of the Following tab on TikTok’s home screen.

TikTok's 'Nearby' feed spotted in the wild pic.twitter.com/WG5yND3oLl
— Brendan Gahan (@brendangahan) August 24, 2022

TikTok later confirmed the feature in development, telling TechCrunch, “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience.” The Nearby feed is currently being tested with a few users in Southeast Asia, and TikTok noted that its availability is quite limited at this point.

It is worth noting that TikTok is also testing another feature that lets creators add location tags to their posts. It is unclear if these two functionalities will be released alongside each other, but they will most likely complement one another. Both features could help creators reach a wider audience more easily.

TikTok’s Nearby feed also opens new opportunities for small businesses to advertise their establishments or products on the platform. As TechCrunch pointed out, users who like to watch food videos on TikTok could easily find content from nearby restaurants from the new feed. And this use case could also give TikTok another way to generate ad revenue.

But when asked if only videos with location tags will appear on the Nearby feed, TikTok said it is “too early to say.” This suggests that the new feed is in the early phase of development, and how it will be implemented could still change before it officially launches.