What Is Whee? A Look at ByteDance’s Instagram Clone for Outside the United States

Photo Credit: ByteDance

ByteDance isn’t resting on its laurels as the fight with the United States government over TikTok’s status here heats up. To that end, the Chinese company has launched ‘Whee,’ which appears to be an Instagram clone that is only available outside the U.S. for now.Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii discovered the app, which appears to be focused on photo-sharing. “Capture and share real-life photos that only your friends can see, allowing you to be your most authentic self,” the app’s description reads. “Whee is the best place for close friends to share life moments.”

The screenshots in the Google Play Store showcase an app with a design that isn’t too far from Instagram. It features a photo viewfinder for taking and framing pictures, the ability to DM friends’ messages, and a feed of photos that users can scroll through to keep up to date with their friends. Currently, the app is only available in a handful of countries.

It’s worth noting that there doesn’t appear to be an iOS version of ‘Whee,’ yet, so it looks like ByteDance may be targeting countries where Android is the preferred mobile operating system. iOS commands a 55.42% market share in the United States, making it futile to launch a social media app without iOS support. However, Android has around 71.5% of global market share for mobile devices around the world.Neither ByteDance nor TikTok have returned requests for comment about the new app—and it’s unclear what this could mean for the music industry. Speculation on my part suggests ByteDance has its eyes set on dethroning Meta as the social media juggernaut globally.

Facebook is in decline as Gen Z turns away from their parents’ social media platform—while Instagram isn’t considered a growing platform anymore. One aspect of its death is that nearly every Instagram user uses the app alongside other platforms, with cross-posting from TikTok to Reels creating such a problem for Meta that it began to de-prioritize videos with the TikTok watermark in its discovery feed.