TikTok has announced that it will be discontinuing its Instagram competitor, TikTok Notes, effective May 8. The photo-sharing app was initially introduced in a testing phase in Canada, Australia, and Vietnam last year.

Users of TikTok Notes are being notified of the app’s retirement and are being redirected to Lemon8, another platform owned by ByteDance. This move is not entirely unexpected, given the similarities between the two apps and their shared functionality.

A spokesperson for TikTok commented, “We’re excited to incorporate the feedback from TikTok Notes into Lemon8, as we continue to develop a dedicated space for our community to share and experience photo content, designed to complement and enhance the TikTok experience.”

Although TikTok has not provided a specific reason for shutting down the app, it is likely that the company did not see significant adoption of TikTok Notes and has decided to focus on promoting Lemon8 instead. As of December 2024, Lemon8 had approximately 12.5 million global monthly active users.

In a notice sent to TikTok Notes users, the company stated that the decision to shut down the app “was not made lightly.” The notice encourages users to download and save their TikTok Notes data and invites them to “continue sharing your creativity on Lemon8.” According to TikTok, Lemon8 offers a similar experience to TikTok Notes, but with additional features.

Lemon8 was initially launched in Japan in 2020 and has since expanded to markets in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. The app shares similarities with Instagram and Pinterest, allowing users to share slideshows and photo collections, and browse content through “Following” and “For You” feeds. Lemon8 also provides users with access to creative tools, filters, effects, stickers, text templates, and more.

While TikTok is promoting Lemon8 as an alternative to TikTok Notes, ByteDance has also attempted to position the app as a substitute for TikTok itself, in light of a potential U.S. ban.

Last November, the company enabled users to directly access Lemon8 using their TikTok accounts and introduced the ability to cross-share photo content between the apps. This move was seen as a strategy for ByteDance to transition creators to the new platform without requiring them to sign up separately, in the event that TikTok were to be banned.

As of today, TikTok continues to promote Lemon8 within its app, as it faces a new ban deadline of April 5.