TikTok testing Instagram-rival app TikTok Notes in Canada

TikTok testing new app

Photo: The Canadian Press

TikTok is testing an app that rivals Instagram in Canada. The TikTok startup page is displayed on an iPhone in Ottawa, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

TikTok is testing an app that rivals Instagram in Canada.

The social media company says TikTok Notes became available for download and "limited testing" in Canada and Australia this week.

TikTok Notes allows users to share photos and text.

The company says on X that the test is part of early stages of experimentation it is undertaking with images and text.

The app's debut comes as concern has been mounting around TikTok because Chinese law forces companies in the country to help its government with intelligence gathering. TikTok's owner ByteDance Ltd. is based in Beijing.

The U.S. has been edging toward banning TikTok unless ByteDance sells its stake in the business, while Canada has been conducting an ongoing national security review of the company, which has said it won’t comply if China requests user data from the business.