Citing an increase in live streaming on the platform, TikTok is encouraging even more of it with a suite of new tools planned to roll out “in the coming weeks.” Many of these features involve connecting with your audience (or with a creator, if you’re the audience), but the biggest focus is on dealing with harmful content. Go LIVE Together will let two creators stream…well, together, while picture-in-picture lets iOS and Android viewers keep their video going while checking the live chat. Top LIVEs will make it easier to find the streams you want on your For You and Following pages, and Live Q&A makes it easier to highlight and respond to questions from your audience. Most importantly, TikTok’s new LIVE features include tools to help creators moderate inappropriate content in their chatrooms. The most toothless feature, Consider Before You Comment, will pop up a text box letting a commenter know that what they’re about to say might be hurtful (but won’t actually stop them). A much better addition is Help For Hosts, which lets you pre-select someone before the stream starts to act as a moderator, so you won’t have to tackle problematic comments alone. You’ll also be able to turn the chat off entirely if you want or use Keyword Filters to automatically block comments using up to 200 terms you set beforehand. The list also can be updated on the fly during the stream, if necessary. Finally, TikTok also will add an option for hosts and moderators to delete harmful comments and mute viewers who are causing problems.
