X is launching a dedicated vertical video feed, in line with other social media platforms.
Elon Musk’s social-media company is looking to introduce new features that are similar to TikTok — which experienced temporary unavailability for all 170 million U.S. users on Sunday, January 19 due to a new law banning the app in the region.
“An immersive new home for videos is rolling out to users in the US today,” X posted on its platform this past Sunday, referencing a new video tab in the app’s bottom bar meant to help users in the region seamlessly access video content in the app.
The new feature also relates to the “video-first” content strategy that X has been building out since Musk’s takeover in 2022, with exclusive content deals with the WWE, The Big Three, Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, Jim Rome, and Don Lemon, who ended up suing X not long after Musk canceled his first in-app episode.
Last year, X also launched a stand-alone TV app focused on airing videos from organizations and creators.
But X users, who have already been able to scroll through short videos on their timeline, will now have a specific section for video viewing, further prioritizing the content format.
Although social-media companies in the U.S. have prepared their platforms for TikTok’s absence, the ByteDance-owned app has already restored service to its U.S. user base and will likely survive in the region due to an Executive Order president-elect Donald Trump is expected to issue and ultimately reverse the Supreme Court’s ban.
