TikTok’s latest feature lets users make AR filters

TikTok users will now be able to create video effects directly in TikTok without downloading another app. The company announced the new mobile editing feature, now available globally, in a blog post today.

AR effects are a big part of TikTok culture, creating challenges, viral games, and essentially an entire genre of content. But until now, creators had to use a separate program called Effect House to create filters for the app.

In the TikTok mobile app, users can work with filter templates and experiment with over 2,000 assets to use in their effects. They will also be able to add interactivity in filters that is activated by movements such as touching the screen, winking, smiling and more.

Although filters have always been central to TikTok, the developers who create these effects have done so for free until recently. In May, the company announced that it would open a $6 million creator fund for people who create viral effects, although the bar to start making money was high and the payouts relatively low. In October, TikTok revised the program to narrow eligibility and change how payments would be calculated.

TikTok filters are also becoming more realistic. Earlier this year, a beauty effect called Bold Glamor started gaining traction and users were shocked by how perfect it looked. The filter, created by TikTok itself, uses generative AI to transform a user’s face so convincingly it’s astonishing. The Bold Glamor filter has been used in over 150 million videos so far. TikTok did not immediately respond to questions about whether the in-app feature would include generative AI tools.