About

The Explosion Filter is a visual effect on Instagram and TikTok that lets the creator add a realistic explosion on their videos. The authentic feeling of the explosion filter inspired pranks in late 2022 based on the creator pretending to plug some devices into an outlet to tease friends and family by pretending the item exploded.

Origin

The explosion filter used in the TikTok trend is actually from Instagram and has been available on the app since early 2022. The filter is simply called "Explosion," and it was created by the user @mefekaradeniz.^[1]

TiikTokers started using the filter for their own content in late October / early November 2022. For instance, on November 5th, 2022, TikToker^[2] dudaguimaraess posted a video in which she is pranking her mom by pretending to plug a curling iron into an outlet and exploding with the filter. Over the course of two weeks, the video received roughly 2.3 million views and 91,600 likes (shown below, left). On the same day, TikToker^[3] hazasamadashi posted a video using the filter in an electric shower to prank his grandmother, earning roughly 1.2 million views and 91,600 likes in two weeks (shown below, right).

Spread

Around November 15th, 2022, the explosion filter started to be used en masse by TikTokers, like this viral video posted on November 14th, 2022, by jblandonn,^[4] in which he uses the filter to play with his small dog. The video earned roughly 16 million views in two days and 2.5 million likes (shown below, left). On the same day, TikToker^[5] luuuis_santiago_ posted a prank reaction of his mother reacting to the filter explosion, earning roughly 8.4 million views and 621,200 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References