Effect House is officially online. This project dedicated to augmented reality has been under development for almost eight months. Effect House has long been running in closed beta with 450 creators. Today, the social network decides to open this beta version to the general public.
Effect House: TikTok’s new AR feature
With this new feature, TikTok becomes a serious competitor to Snapchat. Indeed, the social network has always relied on augmented reality features to seduce its users. The little ghost seeks in particular to support brands to sell better thanks to augmented reality. For its part, with Effect House, TikTok relies on its extensive library of effects. A key part of its DNA, which helps inspire creators to make videos. The social network owned by ByteDance is convinced: by allowing creators to create their own effects, TikTok will be able to to encourage even more the creation of videos.
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In its press release, TikTok states that “Creative effects allow creators to express themselves, entertain and share stories through a wide range of engaging and immersive formats. To expand the possibilities offered by effects, we have created Effect House, a platform that allows anyone to create augmented reality effects for TikTok”. To support creators, TikTok also offers detailed documentation that explains to users how to use the platform to create specific effects. The social network has also published community guidelines to follow.
Special attention will be paid to filters
On social networks, filters raise many questions. Some of the most popular effects today are beauty filters, those that smooth skin, adjust jawlines, alter the shape of facial features, apply makeup, or plump lips, and more. These filters are arousing more and more reactions, because their impact on the mental health of users, and especially on young girls, has become visible. Lawmakers are interested in how social platforms affect young people’s self-image and are considering bills to regulate the sector.
In this regard, TikTok clarifies that the effects created by users will be reviewed by its security teams to ensure that they comply with company policies before being released to the public. And if the company misses an effect that is against the rules, the community can report it using the function “Report an effect”. Obviously, TikTok prohibits blackface-type effects, allusions to negative stereotypes, the simulation of cosmetic surgery, the promotion of drugs, alcohol and tobacco… With Effect House, TikTok wants its application to remain an environment “safe, authentic and inclusive”.