TikTok quickly pauses dating live chat test

TikTok has temporarily halted a trial of a dating feature that placed singles in live chat sessions, according to Business Insider. The testing of this tool, located within the app's "hangout" section, occurred over the past week. Users were invited to participate in chat rooms labeled with phrases like "great people" or "awesome people to meet".

The chatrooms varied in subject matter, from unrelated topics to dating-related conversations, even including sexually explicit discussions like a room for lesbians seeking "big beautiful women". A TikTok spokesperson clarified to Business Insider that the app would no longer recommend dating livestreams to users unless they had previously followed the host creator.

Furthermore, the spokesperson stated that TikTok livestreams can only be initiated by users who are 18 years old or older, as per the app's community guidelines. The app also refrains from recommending "restricted content" to teenagers under the age of 18. The spokesperson added that the test was limited to a segment of U.S. and select other market users and has since been paused.

Additionally, a broader test of TikTok's "hangout" social livestreaming segment is also on hold. While not a dedicated dating platform, TikTok has seen users form romantic connections. Meta, previously known as Facebook, was the first major social media company to officially launch a dating app, Facebook Dating, which reportedly has over 20 million users.