Technologies

Ready to join TikTok in 2022? Here’s what you need to know

We’ll tell you how to make videos, gain followers, get in on trends and challenges.

Short-form video app TikTok has come a long way since its 2016 launch, reporting 1 billion active monthly users in September, despite its conflicted history with the US government. TikTok’s popularity skyrocketed in the US during the pandemic and the app seems to have found a permanent place in our cultural zeitgeist.

Hubspot reported that 96% of surveyed consumers said their video consumption increased in 2020. TikTok’s readiness to meet this need sent other social media scrambling to catch up. Instagram, Facebook and YouTube all put more focus on incorporating TikTok-style features in 2021. In addition – even if you’re not on TikTok – you’ve likely noticed users crossposting TikTok videos on other social media, or an enthusiastic friend has sent you dozens of links through text.

Planning to finally join TikTok in 2022? Whether you’re just curious or looking to go viral, we’ll explain the ins and outs, like how to sign up, film a TikTok and get more followers. We can’t promise that you’ll achieve viral internet fame, but we’ll help you get the most out of the app?

Getting started on TikTok

When you open the TikTok app, videos will automatically start playing and you can poke around the site. But if you want to make quirky TikTok videos to get your 15 seconds of fame, you’ll need to make an account. Download the app on iOS and Android and follow the instructions to create an account.

Until you start following some people or liking videos, the For You feed is going to be a hodgepodge of content. So start by scrolling and see what you find, or you can start in the Following tab and sync your contacts to find friends who are already using the app. The Discover tab is also a good place to find content. See what hashtags are trending and search for what you’re interested in.

Most of the ways you can interact with a video are on the right side of the screen — the creator’s profile, the «like» heart, the comment section, share options and the rotating icon that will show you other videos that use that particular song. Long-press the screen to save a video to your phone, add it to your favorites collection, or say you’re not interested in it. Access, follow and interact with the creator’s profile by swiping left, tapping their username or profile picture.

As you get more involved in the platform and engage with more people, you can find likes and comments from your followers in the Notifications tab. Your private message inbox is also in the Notifications tab. To make any adjustments to your account, like privacy settings or push notifications for example, tap the profile icon, then the three-dot settings in the top-right corner.

Make a TikTok that stands out (or follow a trend)

Ready to make your first video? Tap the white + at the bottom center of the screen and give TikTok the necessary permissions it asks for. You can either film something new or upload a video (or photo) from your phone. The sound editing options are at the top right, and the video editing controls are at the bottom left of the screen. Your video can be 15 seconds, 60 seconds or three minutes.

There are a lot of options available to edit your video, and my best advice is just to explore and experiment. You can add sounds and music to your video and use the Mixer and Trim tools to customize it. Experiment with voiceover by tapping the microphone under the Filter button. There are more fun voice effects if you’re filming a new TikTok, too.

TikTok has a slew of filters, stickers, emojis and text to lay over your video as well. You can also add effects before you start filming or as you go. The cool part is you’re not limited to one filter per video. You can add transitions like Scroll, Rotate, Slip and more. Tap Split to, well, split the screen however you like up to nine ways. Finally, you can add reverse effects, flash (like a double- or triple-take) or slow motion to your video.

Use these tools to strike out on your own or put a fresh spin on a viral challenge or trend. If you find an effect, filter or sound that you like, you can tap the tagged effect, filter or song title on the creator’s video to see how others have used it in their videos. From that screen, tap Use this Sound or Try this Effect to start making your own TikTok.

Once you’re ready to put your video out into the world, double check that everything is how you want it to be – choose a cover image, add hashtags, write up a quick video description and tag friends if you want. But those aren’t the only settings to check.

Customize your preferences by tapping Who Can View This Video and choose between public, friends only or private (only you can see private videos). You can also toggle comments, Duets and Stitch on or off. Save your video to drafts, automatically post it to other social media or post it to TikTok only. You can adjust these settings after the video is published as well.

Finding fame on TikTok

Internet fame might seem easier than ever, but we can’t guarantee anything. A one-off video going viral and skyrocketing a person to internet fame is fairly rare, but it does happen. Noodle, a 13-year-old pug, and his owner, Jonathan Graziano, gained viral popularity on TikTok by deciding if it’s a «bones day» or a «no-bones day.»

Trends happen fast and cover a wide spectrum of topics. In addition to Noodle’s productivity forecasts, some of CNET’s favorite TikTok trends in 2021 included sea shanties, Olivia Rodrigo songs, and Adam Driver’s «good soup» line from the HBO show Girls.

Here are some general tips that’ll have you on your way to a verification badge in no time.

Post, post, post

Without the boost of a viral video out of the gate, establishing a presence on TikTok takes time and commitment. If you’re seeking TikTok fame, we’d suggest that you create a schedule for yourself so you’re posting regularly enough to establish a steady stream of content. Once you hit 1,000 followers, you’ll be able to «go live.» Try to livestream often.

Find the ‘thing’ that sets you apart

Everybody’s good at something. But the internet is huge and a lot of people are good at the same thing. As you embark on your journey for internet fame, look for that extra something to set your videos apart from everyone else’s. The more niche, the better. Once you find your stride, keep it consistent. It might not be the best idea to do a makeup tutorial one day and then demonstrate how to fix a TV the next.

Quality videos can make a big difference

You don’t have to go to film school, but if you’re serious about creating an online presence, you should present a polished product. You wouldn’t want to follow someone who doesn’t post quality videos either, right? Don’t go broke on camera equipment, but maybe invest in a tripod for your phone (they can run as little as $10 on Amazon). Read up on video composition while you’re waiting for it to be delivered.

Connect social media

Odds are, you’ll have more luck if all your social media accounts are linked together. You’ll have even more luck the more social media platforms you’re on. You probably follow your favorite celebrities and influencers on multiple platforms, so wouldn’t you like your followers to do the same? More platforms to follow means more exposure and a bigger audience for your videos to reach.

That said, don’t compromise your safety seeking internet fame. Perhaps create a Finsta and protect your private Instagram. Additionally, if you get enough followers, you can create a Page on Facebook and keep your personal account private.

Follow-for-follow

Engaging with your followers is a big deal. You know how exciting it is when your favorite podcaster or a celebrity retweets you or likes your Instagram post. There’s no need to give someone the cold shoulder. If they comment on one of your posts or a video, like it and comment back.

Keep safety in mind, as always. If you’re going to be in the public eye, not everyone will like what you make. Some negative comments can be constructive and help you improve your content. Other comments or messages might be harassment, creepy and abusive. Use your discretion. Report and delete the trolls. Don’t forget to interact with other TikTok creators too!

Do your homework

What’s trending is important to a video’s success on any social media platform. Pay attention to hashtags, what’s popular right now and what’s trending in the Discover tab. This might seem like it contradicts the «find your thing» tip, but you can stick a hashtag on your video to make it more findable — even if it’s only tangentially related. Sneaky, I know, but people need to find your videos to appreciate them. However, the more relevant your content is, the better it’ll do with your audience.

Deleting TikTok

If TikTok winds up not being your cup of tea or if, perhaps more likely, you’re spending so much time on the app that you no longer go outside, you can step away for a bit, turn off notifications, or even delete your account. Here’s how.

1. Open the TikTok app and tap Me, the profile icon in the bottom right.
2. Tap the settings «dots» in the top right corner.
3. Choose Manage Account.
4. Tap Delete Account and follow the onscreen prompts to complete the process.

For more, check out The 8 best iPhone apps of 2021 and the 8 best Android apps of 2021.

Technologies

CNET Daily Tariff Price Tracker: I’m Watching 11 Key Products for Changes, Here’s What’s Happened

The deadline for the start of Trump’s heaviest tariffs has been delayed until next month, leaving consumers stuck with more uncertainty over prices.

For the last three months, tariffs have been a hot topic, leaving consumers and businesses alike worried: Will they hike prices and by how much? It’s a question more relevant than ever this week, as President Trump punts another major deadline down the road and price-slashing Amazon’s Prime Day sales wind down as the week ends.

Amid those worries, I’ve been tracking prices every day for 11 key products likely to be hit by tariff-induced price increases, and the answer I’ve come to so far is this: Not so much, at least not yet. The winding road of tariff inflation still stretches before us into an uncertain future, so the threat of price hikes continues to cloud the horizon.

To date, I’ve seen two noteworthy price increases, one for the Xbox Series X and the other for a popular budget-friendly 4K TV. Some other products — including Apple’s popular AirPods and printer ink — have gone on sale for brief periods.

CNET Tariff Tracker Index

Above, you can check out a chart with the average price of the 11 products included in this piece over the course of 2025. This will help give you a sense of the overall price changes and fluctuations going on. Further down, you’ll be able to check out charts for each individual product being tracked.

We’ll be updating this article regularly as prices change. It’s all in the name of helping you make sense of things, so be sure to check back every so often. For more, check out CNET’s guide to whether you should wait to make big purchases or buy them now and get expert tips about how to prepare for a recession.

Methodology

We’re checking prices daily and will update the article and the relevant charts right away to reflect any changes. The following charts show a single bullet point for each month, with the most recent one labeled «Now» and showing the current price. For the past months, we’ve gone with what was the most common price for each item in the given month.

In most cases, the price stats used in these graphs were pulled from Amazon using the historical price-tracker tool Keepa. For the iPhones, the prices come from Apple’s official materials and are based on the 128-gigabyte base model of the latest offering of the iPhone 16. For the Xbox Series X, the prices were sourced from Best Buy using the tool PriceTracker. If any of these products happen to be on sale at a given time, we’ll be sure to let you know and explain how those price drops differ from longer-term pricing trends that tariffs can cause.

The 11 products we’re tracking

Mostly what we’re tracking in this article are electronic devices and digital items that CNET covers in depth, like iPhones and affordable 4K TVs — along with a typical bag of coffee, a more humble product that isn’t produced in the US to any significant degree.

The products featured were chosen for a few reasons: Some of them are popular and/or affordable representatives for major consumer tech categories, like smartphones, TVs and game consoles. Others are meant to represent things that consumers might buy more frequently, like printer ink or coffee beans. Some products were chosen over others because they are likely more susceptible to tariffs. Some of these products have been reviewed by CNET or have been featured in some of our best lists.

iPhone 16, 128GB
Duracell AA batteries, 24-pack
Samsung DU7200 65-inch TV
Xbox Series X
Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C case
HP 962 CMY Printer Ink
Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank
Bose TV speaker
Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook, 256GB
Starbucks 28-ounce ground dark roast coffee

Below, we’ll get into more about each individual product, and stick around till the end for a rundown of some other products worth noting.

iPhone 16

The iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand in the US, so this was a clear priority for price tracking. The iPhone has also emerged as a major focal point for conversations about tariffs, given its popularity and its susceptibility to import taxes because of its overseas production, largely in China. Trump has reportedly been fixated on the idea that the iPhone can and should be manufactured in the US, an idea that experts have dismissed as a fantasy. Estimates have also suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500.

Something to note about this graph: The price listed is the one you’ll see if you buy your phone through a major carrier. If you, say, buy direct from Apple or Best Buy without a carrier involved, you’ll be charged an extra $30, so in some places, you might see the list price of the standard iPhone 16 listed as $830.

Apple’s been taking a few steps to protect its prices in the face of these tariffs, flying in bulk shipments of product before they took effect and planning to move production for the US market from China to India. A new Reuters report found that a staggering 97% of iPhones imported from the latter country, March through May, were bound for the US. This latter move drew the anger of Trump again, threatening the company with a 25% tariff if they didn’t move production to the US, an idea CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly shot down in the past. This came after Trump gave a tariff exemption to electronic devices including smartphones, so the future of that move seems in doubt now.

Duracell AA batteries

A lot of the tech products in your home might boast a rechargeable energy source but individual batteries are still an everyday essential and I can tell you from experience that as soon as you forget about them, you’ll be needing to restock. The Duracell AAs we’re tracking are some of the bestselling batteries on Amazon.

Samsung DU7200 TV

Alongside smartphones, televisions are some of the most popular tech products out there, even if they’re an infrequent purchase. This particular product is a popular entry-level 4K TV and was CNET’s pick for best overall budget TV for 2025. Unlike a lot of tech products that have key supply lines in China, Samsung is a South Korean company, so it might have some measure of tariff resistance.

After spending most of 2025 hovering around $400, this item has now seen some notable upticks on Amazon, most recently sitting around $450. This could potentially be in reaction to Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs against South Korea this week.

Xbox Series X

Video game software and hardware are a market segment expected to be hit hard by the Trump tariffs. Microsoft’s Xbox is the first console brand to see price hikes — the company cited «market conditions» along with the rising cost of development. Most notably, this included an increase in the price of the flagship Xbox Series X, up from $500 to $600. Numerous Xbox accessories also were affected and the company also said that «certain» games will eventually see a price hike from $70 to $80.

Initially, we were tracking the price of the much more popular Nintendo Switch as a representative of the gaming market. Nintendo has not yet hiked the price of its handheld-console hybrid and stressed that the $450 price tag of the upcoming Switch 2 has not yet been inflated because of tariffs. Sony, meanwhile, has so far only increased prices on its PlayStation hardware in markets outside the US.

AirPods Pro 2

The latest iteration of Apple’s wildly popular true-wireless earbuds are here to represent the headphone market. Much to the chagrin of the audiophiles out there, a quick look at sales charts on Amazon shows you just how much the brand dominates all headphone sales. For most of the year, they’ve hovered around $199, but ahead of Prime Day sales this week they are currently on sale for $149.

HP 962 CMY printer ink

This HP printer ink includes cyan, magenta and yellow all in one product and recently saw its price jump from around $72 — where it stayed for most of 2025 — to $80, which is around its highest price over the last five years. We will be keeping tabs to see if this is a long-term change or a brief uptick.

This product replaced Overture PLA Filament for 3D printers in this piece, but we’re still tracking that item.

Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank

Anker’s accessories are perennially popular in the tech space and the company has already announced that some of its products will get more expensive as a direct result of tariffs. This specific product has also been featured in some of CNET’s lists of the best portable chargers.

Bose TV speaker

Soundbars have become important purchases, given the often iffy quality of the speakers built into TVs. While not the biggest or the best offering in the space, the Bose TV Speaker is one of the more affordable soundbar options out there, especially hailing from a brand as popular as Bose. You can currently get this model at a healthy discount for Prime Day, down to $200 from $280.

Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush

They might be a lot more expensive than their traditional counterparts but electric toothbrushes remain a popular choice for consumers because of how well they get the job done. I know my dentist won’t let up on how much I need one. This particular Oral-B offering was CNET’s overall choice for the best electric toothbrush for 2025.

While this product hasn’t seen its price budge one way or another most of the year, there is a $10 coupon listed on Amazon right now.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook

Lenovo is notable among the big laptop manufacturers for being a Chinese company making its products especially susceptible to Trump’s tariffs.

Starbucks Ground Coffee (28-ounce bag)

Coffee is included in this tracker because of its ubiquity —I’m certainly drinking too much of it these days —and because it’s uniquely susceptible to Trump’s tariff agenda. Famously, coffee beans can only be grown within a certain distance from Earth’s equator, a tropical span largely outside the US and known as the «Coffee Belt.»

Hawaii is the only part of the US that can produce coffee beans, with data from USAFacts showing that 11.5 million pounds were harvested there in the 2022-23 season — little more than a drop in the mug, as the US consumed 282 times that amount of coffee during that period. Making matters worse, Hawaiian coffee production has declined in the past few years.

All that to say: Americans get almost all of their coffee from overseas, making it one of the most likely products to see price hikes from tariffs.

Other products

As mentioned, we occasionally swap out products with different ones that undergo notable price shifts. Here are some things no longer featured above, but that we’re still keeping an eye on:

Nintendo Switch: The baseline handheld-console hybrid has held steady around $299 most places — including Amazon — since it released in 2017. Whether that price will be affected by tariffs or the release of the Switch 2 remains to be seen. This product was replaced above with the Xbox Series X.
Overture PLA 3D printer filament: This is a popular choice on Amazon for the material needed to run 3D printers. It has held steady around $15 on Amazon all year. This product was replaced above by the HP 962 printer ink.

Here are some products we also wanted to single out that haven’t been featured with a graph yet:

Razer Blade 18 (2025), 5070 Ti edition: The latest revision of Razer’s largest gaming laptop saw a $300 price bump recently, with the base model featured an RTX 5070 Ti graphics card now priced at $3,500 ahead of launch, compared to the $3,200 price announced in February. While Razer has stayed mum about the reasoning, it did previously suspend direct sales to the US as Trump’s tariff plans were ramping up in April.
Asus ROG Ally X: The premium version of Asus’s Steam Deck competitor handheld gaming PC recently saw a price hike from $799 to $899, coinciding with the announcement of the company’s upcoming Xbox-branded Ally handhelds.

Technologies

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 12 #496

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 12 No. 496.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

If you love attending baseball games in summer, you’ll hit a home run with today’s NYT Strands puzzle. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: In the ballpark.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Play ball!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TEER, MEER, MEET, TEEM, ROAD, STALL, TALL, BEST, PEAT, LUNH, CULT, BUMP, BILE, PEAL, METE, BULL, STUN, NUTS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: