What is Douyin and how to get started

Douyin, also known as 抖音, is the Chinese version of TikTok owned by Bytedance and China's most downloaded video-sharing platform.

About Douyin

Douyin, also known as 抖音, is the Chinese version of TikTok owned by Bytedance and China’s most downloaded video-sharing platform.

Initially released in the Chinese market in 2016 by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, Douyin has quickly become one of the most popular mobile apps in China, with over 700 million monthly active users.

As the international version of Douyin, TikTok shares the same user interface as Douyin but has no access to each other’s content. Their features are similar but not identical, and Douyin only operates in China. Due to data privacy and national security concerns, the app has been banned in some countries, including India and the United States.

Despite this, Douyin continues to be a popular platform for users to create and share short videos. It will likely continue to grow in popularity in the future.

Most of its content are in Mandarin, and a significant portion of the users are Chinese Gen Z consumers. Therefore, Douyin is commonly used by businesses and brands to gain organic growth by creating content. Douyin marketing and advertising in China offer unlimited opportunities for international brands.

How To Get Started On Douyin

Douyin does not operate outside of China, so you can only download Douyin from the Google Play Store or App Store if you’re in Mainland China. If you are outside of China, you might wonder how to download and use it. This article will walk you through the easy downloading process to get the Douyin app on your Android or iOS device in minutes.

It’s pretty simple - you can download Douyin directly from its official website.

How to download Douyin and open a Chinese account on an Android device

Step 1: Go to douyin.com

Go to douyin.com on your Android device, and click the Download Now (立即下载) button to download the Douyin app APK (android package) to your phone.

Don’t worry about the warning — the Douyin app APK is safe to download since it’s from the official website.

Step 2: Approve the installation

Once the app APK download is complete, click ‘open’ to initiate the installation process. Remember, you can’t install APK files from Google without approval. So don’t forget to click ‘Settings’ and turn on the ‘Allow from this source’ switch. After approval, open your file manager and click on the downloaded Douyin app APK. Then click ‘Install.’

Step 3: Complete

Open the app from your home screen, and complete the Douyin app account signup process with a mobile phone number.

However, the signup and login process will all be in Mandarin. It can’t be translated to English on Android devices, even if your device is set to English. You can simply follow the steps below for guidance:

Tap the ‘Me’ (我) tab in the bottom right-hand corner
Enter your mobile number
Tap the pink ‘Send code’(验证并登录) button
Enter the SMS code sent to your phone
Click the pink ‘Login’(登录) button
Done!

If you still need clarification on the language barrier, feel free to get in touch with us to get step-by-step guidance for setting up your Douyin account!

How to download Douyin and open a Chinese account on an iOS device

Douyin is only available in the China mainland version of the App Store. So, if you are outside of China, you won’t be able to find the Douyin app on your default App Store. You need to first change the App Store region to mainland China in the App Store settings.

When doing this, you’ll be required to fill in some credentials, such as your Billing Address and Phone number. Since Douyin is free to download, we suggest choosing None to avoid that section and using an address generator to fill in the boxes.

After the App Store changes the region to mainland China, you can search for “Douyin” or “抖音” in the search box and install it.

Businesses

You can also create a business account if you have a China-registered company.

Like most video-streaming platforms, Douyin provides different advertisement formats. You can sign up on ByteDance’s ad platform Ocean Engine, which is also used by other social products by ByteDance.

Different Advertising Formats Supported On Douyin

To get started, you need a Douyin Account to log in at Doujia.

Do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese phone number or Chinese ID? We can help!

If you do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese ID, or Chinese phone number, and want to install and sign up for a Chinese TikTok/Douyin account without all the hassle, 21YunBox is here to help!

We can provide the necessary supporting documents to get started on Douyin and walk you through the process. Meanwhile, we will also bring your company, product, and service into full compliance with Chinese law.