About

TikTok Duets are video editing features on the TikTok app that allow users with public accounts to remix and repurpose the video made by other creators on the app. A Duet video is one that contains two or more videos that play simultaneously in various layouts. The feature has been a TikTok staple since the app's inception, with further options for remixing content like "Stitches" and "Green Screen Duet" being added in the years 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Origin

In late April 2018, TikTok released it's Duet feature internationally, alongside the hashtag #duetwithme.^[1] The feature was notably similar to the "Duet" feature on TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly, which rolled out its Duet feature in March 17th, 2017.^[2][3] The feature was integrated into TikTok after the acquisition of Musical.ly in November 2017, and has been an original staple since the start of the app in its current form.

The TikTok Duets feature is a way for users to react or reply to other creators on the app. The Duet feature allows a creator to record their own video side-by-side or top-and-bottom with the video of another public profile, and publish it to their own page. The feature is reminiscent of the "reaction video": format.

On December 24th, 2020, Tech Insider's official YouTube^[4] account posted a how-to tutorial for the TikTok Duet feature, gathering over 150,000 views in over a year (seen below).

Features

Stitches

On September 3rd, 2020, TikTok published an article titled, "New on TikTok: Introducing Stitch,"^[5] which rolled out a new feature that allowed users to "clip and integrate scenes from another user's video into their own." The article likened the feature to the TikTok Duet, adding that it was another way for creators to "reinterpret and add to another user's content." An explainer video for the new feature was posted to TikTok's^[6] official account on September 2nd, 2020, where it gathered over 500,000 likes in two years (seen below).

New Layouts For Duets

On September 30th, 2020, TikTok published an article titled, "Feature highlight: new layouts for Duet," and introduced a new feature that allowed users to publish duets not just side-by-side but also top-and-bottom. The article discusses the revamp of the "original TikTok feature that's been a community favorite," and introduces three new layouts for making Duets; "a left and right layout, react layout, top and bottom layout, and three screen layout."^[7] The layout of the in-app feature can be seen below.

Green Screen Duet

On May 12th, 2021, TikTok posted an article^[8] titled, "Introducing Green Screen Duet," and introduced a new feature on the app that allows users to "use another video from TikTok as the background in a new video." The feature allows a creator to record themselves with another creator's video playing simultaneously in the background. An example of a Green Screen Duet can be seen via TikToker^[9] @trashcaulin, who gathered over 20,000 likes using the feature (seen below).

Search Interest

External References