Another day, another platform trying to be like TikTok. This time Netflix has fallen victim to the hype train with its release of a mobile feature called Fast Laughs that is basically a clone of the popular video-sharing app.
Fast Laughs looks and feels like TikTok or Instagram Reels. Netflix announced the feature yesterday, revealing that it will serve up a full-screen feed of short clips from the streaming giant’s catalog.
The feed is accessed via a "Fast Laughs" tab at the bottom of the navigation menu and cues an autoplay of clips. Users can scroll through the feed and choose to add featured series, films, or stand-up specials to their Netflix watch list or cue them to watch now. Clips can also be shared to other social platforms or via SMS.
The streaming giant also shared a video showing what the user experience would look like. You can watch it below.
Just last weekend, Facebook also took a leaf out of TikTok's book when it launched its daughter app BARS, a TikTok-like rapping platform. And like Instagram's Reels feature before that and Netflix now, it seems like every app and social media platform is making the pivot to TikTok-esque features with the hopes of striking TikTok-esque gold.
For Netflix, Fast Laughs is a way of taking back all that time people spend scrolling on TikTok. Giving iPhone users something else to scroll through on their phones, and turning that into more time spent on Netflix itself could be a brilliant business move if successful.
Fast Laughs has begun to roll out in select territories today and is currently only available for iOS devices, however, Netflix says Android tests will begin soon.
