Facebook just launched a standalone video app called Lasso and it's basically the exact same thing as TikTok (FB)

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November 10, 2018 1:02 AM

On Friday, Facebook released a direct competitor to TikTok, called Lasso. Facebook's new, standalone app is a direct target at the growing user base of TikTok, which in September was the most downloaded social app in the US.

Facebook
downloaded social app in the US.

Facebook has cloned another popular social app. And it's called Lasso.

The world's largest social network is essentially re-creating its own version of TikTok, the 15-second video app that's become increasingly popular in the US. In September, TikTok was the most

Facebook's Lasso functions almost exactly the same as TikTok. Videos are capped at 15 seconds, and users can add their favorite tunes to play in the background. Facebook told Business Insider that users will be able to choose from millions of songs in its licensed catalog.

New videos are seemingly endless — just swipe up for more content to be served your way. As The Atlantic's Tayor Lorenz pointed out on Twitter, it appears that Facebook seeded content on Lasso with videos that were already on TikTok.

Reports of Lasso's creation were leaked by TechCrunch two weeks ago.

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— a standalone app called Slingshot—

With the release of Lasso, the short-form video space is heating up. Just yesterday, Vine founder, Dom that his new 6.5-second looping video platform, byte, will launch in spring 2019.