TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is ceasing support for its e-commerce app just nine months after launch, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, as the firm continues to shed struggling business units amid a slowing economy and tightened regulatory environment, reports the South China Morning Post.
Douyin Box, which was launched last December, will no longer be updated, and the team’s employees will be given the chance to transfer internally within the company, one source said.
The news, which was first reported by local tech media outlet 36Kr, comes after ByteDance stopped updating Douyin Box two weeks ago. Before that, the app was updated every nine days on average, according to records on various app stores.