TikTok is adding voice comments, photo carousels, and polls to its comment section
TikTok is upgrading its comment section with four new formats — voice notes, photo carousels, Live Photos, and creator polls — making one of the internet's busiest comment sections feel more like a messaging app. The platform processes 1.7 billion comments every day, and these additions are a clear push to keep users engaging longer without leaving the app.
The features
Voice Comments are the biggest change. Users aged 18 and older can record and post audio replies of up to 60 seconds directly under a video. The feature rolls out gradually over the next month, per Engadget. TikTok says it will moderate audio using a combination of automated speech-to-text tools and human review — though questions about how long voice recordings are retained and whether they feed into model training remain unanswered.
TikTok's new voice comments let users record up to 60 seconds of audio directly under a video.
Comment Polls are already live globally. Creators can add a poll with up to five answer options directly to their own video's comment section, with results visible to anyone who scrolls through.
Live Photo Comments are also available now. If your iPhone shoots Live Photos — those brief clips that capture a moment of motion before and after the shutter — you can post them as replies, adding a bit of animation to an otherwise static thread.
Live Photo Comments bring a brief motion burst to replies, available globally now.
Photo Carousel Comments round out the update. Users will soon be able to attach up to nine images in a single comment, displayed as a swipeable carousel. Like voice comments, this is a phased rollout expected to complete over the next month.
What this means
The comment section has quietly become one of TikTok's most competitive features. These additions mirror what WhatsApp and Instagram have been doing in direct messages — voice notes, rich media, interactive replies — except here everything happens in public, under a video. For creators, Comment Polls are a low-effort way to drive interaction; for regular users, voice and photo replies lower the friction of actually responding to something.
The moderation angle is worth watching, notes TechCrunch. AI-driven speech filters have faced criticism recently after a false-flag controversy, and scaling that system to audio comments adds a new layer of complexity. No rollout date is confirmed for specific countries beyond the "next month" window, so availability may vary.
