TikTok is improving the desktop experience for watching viral short-form videos. The platform is introducing a modular layout to its web app, including a full-screen live video feed and a floating player exclusive to desktop.
The redesigned navigation bar is a key element of the modular design. This new layout promotes a more immersive viewing experience and enhances content discovery, according to TikTok.
A persistent pane on the left side of the screen provides access to essential controls. Users can easily navigate to the For You feed, Explore page, Messages, profile settings, account suggestions, and Live section, all from this convenient location.
Unlike the mobile app, which relies on swiping and tapping, the desktop version presents all core features directly on the Home Screen. Engagement tools like liking, commenting, and sharing are positioned to the right of the video window.
Home page of TikTok on Web.
To further enrich the desktop experience, TikTok is introducing custom categories for saving and revisiting videos. This feature resembles Instagram’s collections, allowing users to create both private and shared collections.
Content creators will appreciate the ability to launch live videos in both landscape and portrait orientations on the web version. Mobile viewers can seamlessly switch their phone’s orientation to match the live video’s format.
Drawing inspiration from web browsers’ picture-in-picture functionality, TikTok’s web app now features a floating media player. This allows users to multitask while keeping TikTok content visible above other windows.
Currently, this floating window mode is exclusive to the Chrome browser. Whether it will be extended to other browsers, particularly Chromium-based ones like Microsoft Edge, remains uncertain.
This desktop enhancement arrives shortly after TikTok’s reinstatement on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store in the US, following a brief ban. While a permanent ban has been temporarily averted by an executive order, the platform’s future in the US remains under scrutiny.
