Snapchat Launches a TikTok-like Feed Called Spotlight, Kick-Started by Paying Creators

Snapchat this morning is officially launching a dedicated place within its app where users can watch short, entertaining videos in a vertically scrollable, TikTok-like feed. This new feature, called Spotlight, will showcase the community’s creative efforts.

Snapchat says its algorithms will work to surface the most engaging Snaps to display to each user on a personalized basis. Over time, the feed will become tailored to the individual user based on their own interactions, preferences and favourites. This is a similar system to what TikTok uses for its “For You” feed.

To encourage users to publish to Spotlight, the company will distribute more than US$1 million every day to Snapchat users (16 and up) who create the top Snaps on Spotlight. This will continue through the end of 2020. The earnings will be determined by Snapchat’s proprietary algorithm that rewards users based on the total number of unique views a Snap gets per day (calculated using Pacific Time), as compared with others on the platform.