Parents of older teens may be familiar with Vine, more commonly known as the predecessor of the much-loved TikTok. Vine still lives on through videos circulating social media platforms today. These videos consisted of comedy skits, viral challenges, even dances – just like TikTok. Now, the short-video shenanigans have a new app to attach to — Byte.
What Is Byte?
In its simplest form, Byte is a platform made of looping videos created by its users. Short videos aren’t the only thing Byte has in common with Vine. Dom Hofmann, a co-creator of the original app, is behind the recently-debuted Byte.
The app centers on a rolling feed showcasing content from followed accounts, an explore page and building up your own profile with original content. Unlike TikTok or Vine, however, Byte offers a partner program where creators can monetize their videos just like YouTube. The presence of ads enables creators to make money from their in-app content.
Hofmann told Tech Crunch, “We’ll be starting with a revenue sharing and supplementing with our own funds. We’ll have more details about exactly how the pilot program will work soon.”
Is It Family-Friendly?
According to Byte’s official Terms of Privacy, its services “are not directed to children under 13 (or other age as required by local law), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.”
Byte encourages concerned parents to contact the company’s support team if they discover their children have created an account without permission. The support team, in turn, will terminate these accounts and any accompanying information. Still in its early launch days, more details about possible parental controls aren’t available and there are still issues being resolved.
Upon launch, the Byte app faced comment spam, including comments that could be offensive to families. Hofmann has addressed the issue on Byte’s Community Forum, “In the medium term, we’ll be making more dramatic changes to comments including a) the ability to like comments, and b) the abilities to block/filter/limit commenting.”
The app is available for download on both iOS and Android.