From restaurant guides to payments, here’s how TikTok is building a super app

TikTok may be working to become the app that people use for most of their digital activities. TikTok announced this week that it’s adding an in-app restaurant guide, marking another step in the platform’s expansion beyond social media. The company has also recently been spotted developing a feature that would allow users to send money over direct messages. The social media app has steadily expanded its offerings in recent years, adding TikTok Shop, a map for local discovery, more robust search features, games, and more. It appears that TikTok is taking steps to evolve into a “super app,” a single platform where users can do much more than just watch and share videos and that can actually handle a wide range of needs in one destination.

The super app model is big in China with apps like WeChat, which is kind of like Facebook, WhatsApp, Apple Pay, and an app store all rolled into a single platform. Of course, there’s the question of whether a super app model would work outside of China, but that doesn’t mean TikTok won’t try. Instead of switching between apps, TikTok is working to become the app that people use for most of their digital activities. After taking its biggest leap with TikTok Shop, the company — which, notably, transitioned to new, primarily U.S. ownership