In a move that feels straight out of 2004, TikTok is rolling out a new feature designed to help college students find and connect with classmates.
The feature, called Campus Verification, lets users add their school and graduation year to their TikTok profile, browse a list of verified students, and even sort classmates by follower count.
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Here’s how it works: students tap “Add school” on their profile, enter their university and graduation year, and then confirm their enrollment with their academic email address. Once verified, their school details appear on their profile, and they gain access to a dedicated campus page where they can filter classmates by year or explore who’s most-followed.
The launch is powered by TikTok’s partnership with UNiDAYS, a student verification platform, and is available across more than 6,000 universities worldwide. The stated goal? To make TikTok more than just an entertainment app, turning it into a hub for real-world connection and belonging on campus.
Of course, the update isn’t without its caveats. While it could help students discover new friends, collaborators, or communities, it also raises digital privacy questions, since it makes it easier to identify and track other users. Importantly, the feature is optional, students who prefer to keep their TikTok presence separate from their school life can simply skip adding it.
The timing is also notable: Instagram was spotted testing a similar student-connection feature last year, though it hasn’t been rolled out. Whether this becomes the new social standard, or another experiment that fizzles, remains to be seen