Remember when Facebook started as a campus only social network? TikTok is bringing that feeling back. The platform has rolled out Campus Verification, a fun and functional feature that lets college students add their school and graduation year to their profiles and discover classmates in just a few taps.
Students simply head to their profile, tap the “Add school” button, enter their college and graduation year, and verify their status through their academic email. Once approved, their school and year appear on their profile for all to see.
They can then explore a page dedicated to their school, filter classmates by graduation year, and even check out the most followed users first. It is a simple shortcut that turns TikTok into a campus wide social hub.
The feature leans on verification through UNiDAYS, making it available to more than 6,000 universities. The ambition goes beyond content sharing. TikTok wants to transform into a bridge between digital life and real life, giving students a place to find friends, mentors, and classmates at one of the most pivotal moments of their journey.
For freshmen entering unfamiliar spaces, Campus Verification could take away the awkward silence of the first weeks and replaces it with an easy digital hello.
However, with visibility can come some risks. Some users worry that it might make tracking others too effortless. Thankfully, the feature is completely optional. Students who prefer to keep TikTok separate from their academic identity can simply choose not to participate.
Facebook first launched a “Campus” experiment back in its glory days, only to shut it down due to scaling and verification issues. TikTok, however, is beginning from a stronger foundation with wider university coverage and better verification systems in place.