Bytedance’s short video app Douyin (抖音) has temporarily removed its live-stream and comment feature, local media is reporting (in Chinese). The company said that Douyin will undergo a “system upgrade” and both features will be back on after the upgrade.
Douyin’s sister app, Toutiao is also undergoing a significant shake-up. Zhang Yiming CEO of Toutiao released an open letter earlier today after the State Administration of Radio and Television’s (SAPPRFT) decision to remove the Neihan Duanzi app.
Douyin’s system upgrade seems to be a part of Toutiao’s “rectification” process. The company said it will raise the threshold on screening content on its platform and will focus on optimizing the auditing process.
Yesterday (Apr 10), Douyin pushed out its new “anti-addiction system”, which added two new functions: a reminder that pops up after 90 minutes of continuous usage and a feature that automatically locks the app after daily usage exceeds two hours. To unlock the app, users will be required to enter a password. Wang Xiaowei, the person-in-charge of Douyin products, said the anti-addiction system is still in early phase of development and may be subject to change in the future.
