The feature allows users to post without the background visuals, such as videos and photos, for which TikTok is known. There did not appear to be a separate name for the text post feature.

Before the new format was introduced, users could type text over video and image posts as well as in captions and comments. Some people would create their own text-only posts by sharing screenshots of text-focused content from outside of TikTok, including from other social media apps and text message conversations.

The TikTok text posts can be customized the same way that video and photo posts are, using music, background colors and stickers. People can also tag other users and add hashtags. Text posts can be up to 1,000 characters long, a TikTok spokesperson said in an email. The app will continue to limit video descriptions to 2,200 characters and comments to 150 characters, the company said.

TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, gained popularity with its visual- and audio-focused content, including the short videos of people dancing and performing skits that became synonymous with the app in its early days.

More than one billion people use the app each month, including 150 million people in the United States, according to TikTok, though access to it has been restricted by some local and national governments because of security concerns.