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TikTok Is Testing "Clear Mode" For Distraction-Free Viewing Experience

Pictured: Sumit Adhikari
By Sumit Adhikari
June 01, 2022
Featured image for TikTok Is Testing

TikTok will soon let you watch videos without any distracting elements such as usernames, captions, and buttons on the screen. Called “Clear Mode”, the company is currently testing this new feature that removes all on-screen elements for a distraction-free viewing experience on the ultra-popular video-sharing app.

Clear Mode started rolling out to select TikTok users last week as part of an early limited test. Those who have access to the feature will see the optional setting in the menu, under the “Add to Favorites” button. Once enabled, Clear Mode will remove everything from the screen except the video.

Based on user reports, this feature will get rid of the username of the TikTok account that posted the video, caption, and audio information for the video, as well as the like, comments, and share buttons. You will be scrolling through a never-ending vertical panel of short videos. It’s unclear whether you’ll need to entirely disable Clear Mode to access the hidden on-screen elements or if the company will offer an optional ability to view those on a per-video basis.

Nonetheless, Clear Mode can be useful to TikTok users in many ways. Firstly, screenshotting TikTok videos isn’t uncommon, but the on-screen elements such as usernames, captions, and buttons often cover important parts of videos. Perhaps, they make the screenshots appear cluttered. This new feature will solve that problem. Even if you aren’t screenshotting a TikTok video, getting to watch it without any distractions on the screen will significantly improve the user experience.

TikTok confirms the “Clear Mode” testing

Clear Mode on TikTok was first reported by users on Twitter last week. The company officially confirmed that it is testing the new feature in a statement to TechCrunch earlier this week. However, the company didn’t share any other details about it. So it’s unclear when the feature will roll out to everyone globally. We will be keeping a close eye on this development and will let you know as soon as we have more information. Hopefully, it won’t be too long of a wait.

Along with Clear Mode, TikTok is also working on several other new features. In April, the company announced that it is testing a private dislike button for comments. It allows users to anonymously flag comments as inappropriate or irrelevant in the context of the video. The commenter won’t be notified of dislikes, nor could anyone see how many times a comment has been disliked. TikTok will use the data to improve the comment section by intelligently filtering out inappropriate comments. This feature should also roll out publicly in the coming months.

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