TikTok introduced “Local Feeds” in the US, a feature that helps users discover nearby content, businesses, and services using their precise location. The featured first launched in the UK, Italy, and Germany this past December under the name “Nearby Feed.”
TikTok wrote in its announcement:
“The Local Feed makes it easier to live like a local. Whether you’re rediscovering your own neighborhood or in a new city for the first time, it’s now even easier to get the inside scoop on must-try restaurants, shops, museums, and events from creators on TikTok.”
The feed appears in a new dedicated Local Tab, which displays posts based on a user’s location and interests, and when the content was posted. TikTok didn’t say specifically that it prioritizes newer content, but I can imagine that the freshness of a post will play a role in whether it surfaces in the Local tab, as no one wants to discover an event that’s already taken place or a coffee shop that’s already gone out of business.
Remember when everyone freaked out a few weeks ago after the TikTok US transition because the app updated its privacy policy to allow for the collection of your precise location? Well, this is what that update was all about.
Honestly I think TikTok Local is going to be a gamechanger for small businesses, which have lacked an impactful organic way to reach people in their own communities for over a decade.
A long time ago, Facebook and Instagram pushed businesses to grow their following on their platforms, and then made it impossible (or expensive) to actually reach them afterwards. All the while, Facebook Events became a sad wasteland of bar trivia nights and fake product launches.
The local discovery market is open for the taking, and TikTok’s Local feed is the best thing to come to it in years. No offense, Nextdoor.
(Unrelated, but is anyone else tired of Nirav Tolia constantly talking about Nextdoor on Shark Tank? Even Shark Tank exposure won’t make that platform cool.)
Back in December when I covered the launch of Nearby Feed in Europe, I wrote:
“What should Instagram call their Nearby Feed after they swipe this idea? Instagram Local?”
It isn’t a matter of if Meta steals this idea, only a matter of when they do it. Who guesses Q2 2026?
Regardless of who copies who, TikTok Local and the inevitable Instagram Local will give small businesses a well-deserved boost in reach this year, and I support that.
