Social-Media
The App Store is being hit by a new TikTok clone by paying users to look at videos
TikTok has a new competitor: Zynn, a TikTok near-button clone with one key twist – it pays users to log-in, view videos and persuade others to go along. This app started in early May and is now the first free app in Apple's App Store and the top 10 in Google's Play Store, Mashable has noticed.
Zynn is a TikTok clone in its entirety. The core interface is the same, and they are oriented to watch short videos. The big difference is a countdown timer in the middle of which there is a dollar sign on Zynn over each video.
As you see videos, the miniature will fill up and give you the points you can sell in cash or gift cards later on. I didn't test to see whether that worked, but several people wrote YouTube videos showing receipts for payment. Despite what it seems, the app wasn't exactly out of anywhere. Zynn is the extension of rivalry over video apps in China, as the information reported yesterday. Kuaishou, Zynn 's creator, is a well funded startup which runs one of Canada's largest video apps.
The app is only second to Douyin, TikTok's Chinese version. According to the report, Kuaishou used the same paying audience technique to grow in China. Ultimately , the company makes money by selling ads, provided that they collect more money than they pay. (Zynn doesn't seem to be running ads in the US right now.)
The Chinese technology giant behind WeChat, Tencent, recently made $2 billion of investments to Kuaishou. In December, the information reported that the investment was intended to help Tencent "contain ByteDance 's threat," making TikTok and Douyin. The expansion of Kuaishou into the United States seems to be an extension to the company, with Bytedance and its market place using the same strategy.
For a few reasons Zynn appears to have grown so rapidly. There are paying users to obviously watch videos (I could get $0.12 for a couple of minutes by watching video). However, the app also has a referral system, which pays users to register and to use the service themselves, which probably has taken a long time to spread the service. A big banner in the app promises $110 if you can sign up for five people (that most of the money only comes with a fine print when you continue to use the app regularly). The service was also pre-filled with videos since the app can draw content from Kuaishou.
Like TikTok, the app starts directly when you first open a video. However, you must register if you want to receive rewards. And to register, you must give Zynn some personal information. There is no possibility to build a Zynn account directly — it has to be linked to some other service: Google, Twitter , Facebook or your telephone number. I tried to connect my account on Google, but Zynn wouldn't let me go if I refused to share my contact details. I've finally signed up for a Google Voice number burner. This did not lead to my contacts being asked for access, but Zynn knows my (fake) phone number now.
During the registration process, the app has also requested location access, but you still can proceed if you refuse. You must also link a PayPal account in order to cash out your rewards.
