TikTok launches new crediting tools to help creators tag others who inspired their posts

Attribution and creator credits have always been a problem on TikTok. Now, it hopes to address that by releasing new crediting tools that will specifically make crediting other content creators easier. TikTok promises that it will roll out to more users over the next few weeks. 

“These features are an important step in our ongoing commitment to investing in resources and product experiences that support a culture of credit, which is central to ensuring TikTok remains a home for creative expression,” writes TikTok US Director Of Creator Community Kudzi Chikumbu in a blog post. “With the launch of these crediting tools, creators will have the ability to directly tag, mention, and credit a video in their description, showcasing the diverse voices on the platform and the strength of our community. Whether taking part in the latest trend, adding a punchline to a joke, or creating the next viral sound, creators can easily and directly cite their inspiration.”

The tools will be accessible on the app through a new Video icon that you can click on the posting page when your video is ready. It will lead you to a page where a prompt titled “Give credit to a video” is shown. Here, TikTok gives a short idea of what the tools are for. When you exit the prompt, you will see the page containing four tabs: Sound, Posted, Liked, and Favorites. This is where you’ll see the content pieces you previously put into your Favorites, liked, posted, or the content with the same sound as the one you are about to publish. The selected items will create a video tag that will be visible as a mention in your caption. The tag/s will notify the respective creators who own the video.

The new tools will join the features and other tools already being offered by TikTok, such as the Originators and Creator Portal’s “Crediting Creators” section. The latter is more like an informative section for users as it mainly focuses on educating everyone on the “importance of attributing trend Originators for their work.” Apart from that, it also suggests some of the best ways to credit a user, like tagging the user’s handle, using crediting phrases or terms (e.g., ib or dc), duet or stitches, or mentioning them on your post or comment section.

Those processes, nonetheless, would require manual efforts from the users, which can take them some time. The new crediting tools aim to make that easier by preparing suggestions based on your recent activities on the platform.

The tools, of course, don’t come without any flaws. They do “encourage trend attribution across the global TikTok community,” but users always have the choice not to use them. With this, the problem TikTok is trying to solve will greatly rely on whether the tools will be patronized by its users or not.