Maya Martin, Editor

As many are aware, TikTok has been under fire for quite some time because of security concerns. The United States House of Representatives recently voted to pass a law that could have made a possible end to the app.

The law would force “the app to be sold by its Chinese parent company or face a stateside ban,” according to CBS News.

Fortunately for TikTok users, however, the app was already bought out by another company and plans to remain for years to come. There will be major changes to the app as we know it.

The company that bought out TikTok is Match Group, which is an online dating service company that owns Tinder, Hinge, Match.com and other dating websites. Match Group plans to turn TikTok into what it’s calling “a new and innovative dating website in which users will create and post videos to match online,” said CEO Bernard Kim.

Users will film videos talking about themselves and who they are. These videos will appear on the For You Pages (FYP) of other users, and like Tinder, you can swipe left or right to match or not. If a user swipes right on someone, they will be taken to the person’s TikTok account in which they can browse their account, interact with their content and send DMs.

“The plan is to change the app name from TikTok to TikTok Love,” said Kim. “We are projecting that TikTok Love will be the most successful dating app to go down in history.”

Along with all of the new features of TikTok Love, Kim and other members of Match Group are aware of potential issues with younger users. In the United States, minors “are prohibited from having profiles on dating apps and services if they are under 18,” according to the National Cybersecurity Alliance. 

Because of age restrictions, TikTok Love will only be available for users 18 and older. Any current TikTok users under the age of 18 will be removed from the app before it completes its transition to TikTok Love.

“While we understand the frustrations younger TikTok users may have, we must protect the safety of all,” said Kim. “Hopefully when younger users turn 18, they will feel inclined to rejoin the app and find a romantic connection of their own.”

With this upcoming transition, many are asking when and how this will happen. The transition from TikTok to TikTok Love is set to occur later this year, sometime in October. Match Group will be working in the meantime on all of the logistics.

The United States government and President Joe Biden heavily approve this transition into TikTok Love. Because TikTok was bought out by Match Group, an American owned and operated company, they feel safer in terms of security concerns and data breaches.

“TikTok Love is the change we need,” said President Biden. “And hey, who knows, maybe I will even get my grandkids to join the app.”

In addition to alleviating security concerns, TikTok Love will help with minor safety. The government and many parents in the United States have been worried about the effects that TikTok has on young users. Now that TikTok Love users must be 18 or older, that problem will be eliminated.

In the meantime until October, users can still enjoy the same amenities and features TikTok has to offer. Kim and other members of the Match Group company “hope TikTok users have enjoyed their time on the app and are excited to see the future of what is to come with TikTok Love.”