TikTok's Campus Verification Brings Back Early Facebook Vibes for College Students

Aug 23

TikTok launched Campus Verification, a new feature that brings back memories of early Facebook days when you needed a college email to sign up.

Students can now verify their academic email, add their school and graduation year to their profile, and scroll through a directory of classmates—filtered by graduation year and even follower count.

The feature is rolling out to 6,000+ universities through a partnership with UNiDAYS.

Why It Matters: TikTok is positioning itself as a tool to help students meet others on their campus, from first-years to upperclassmen looking to expand their circles. This builds on a trend of platforms encouraging real-world connections, including Instagram's Maps.

Being able to find classmates by follower count highlights how social following has become currency among younger adults. This will be useful for students looking to collaborate with other creators and for student brand ambassadors recruiting peers.

Campus Verification comes at the right time as students return to school and the conclusion of #RushTok.

Looking ahead, it's easy to imagine TikTok expanding this with tools for colleges to promote events, surfacing trending content by campus, and helping brands connect with college students.

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