The Brief: A six-second video-sharing social media app called Byte was released in late January 2020.
DEEP DIVE
Byte, a successor to the short-form video-sharing app Vine dropped on Friday. Vine co-creator Dom Hofmann had been developing Byte for years off and on since 2015.
dear friends,
today we’re bringing back 6-second looping videos and a new community for people who love them.
it’s called byte and it’s both familiar and new. we hope it’ll resonate with people who feel something’s been missing. https://t.co/g5qOIdM8qG
— byte (@byte_app) January 25, 2020
In the days since its release, Byte has been ranked as the number one social networking app and the top free app on Apple’s App Store. On the Google Play store, Byte has received 4.2 stars from over 1,200 reviews.
Byte has a similar interface to Vine, allowing users to scroll through six-second looped videos. People can interact within the app through likes, comments, and reposting or “rebyting” videos. Users can explore various topics within the app including “popular now,” comedy, animation, “chill,” pets, and more.
Although it is just days-old, Byte is full of content from new creators as well as TikTokers and former Viners. Many Byte videos are reminiscent of Vines in their style of comedy, simplicity, and focus on meme-able, slapstick humor.
In a market saturated with short-form video sharing apps like TikTok, Triller, Firework, Like, and Bits, Byte stands out because of its direct connection with Vine. The app has already attracted a number of Viners and Vine enthusiasts, but how it will compete with social media giant TikTok, and whether or not it will run into similar issues that Vine did have yet to be seen.