Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
It’s been one year since TikTok launched in the US, and the app has exploded into a cultural force. From helping propel a little tune called “Old Town Road” into a monster hit to dominating VidCon as the freshest new platform, TikTok’s growth has been fast and unrelenting.
Much of the app’s popularity in the beginning could be attributed to its hashtag challenges, in which users film themselves lip-syncing or dancing to short audio clips about trending hashtags. The short clips can originate from anywhere: it might be a snippet from a song (which can go on to live in a Spotify playlist of popular TikTok songs), the audio from a Vine (RIP), or a clip from a viral YouTube video. The best (or cringiest) challenges might get edited into…