Here’s how an unknown TikTok clone topped the App Store charts

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Been on the App Store over the past few days? You might have noticed a curious new free iPhone app in the number one spot called Zynn. As it turns out it’s a TikTok clone that’s going after users of the popular app in the US. So how did it just beat out the massively popular TikTok in the App Store charts? A pyramid scheme that pays people to use it and refer friends…

Reported by Mashable, Zynn doesn’t seem like just a short-term scam dressed up as a TikTok clone but rather a very well-funded TikTok copycat actually looking to steal its market share. As it happens, Zynn developer Owlii/Qianyun Zhao was acquired by a multi-billion dollar Chinese company called Kuaishou.

Just this past December, Kuaishou was valued at $28 billion in a financing round that included some of the biggest Chinese tech companies like Baidu and Tencent. The company earned $5.7 billion in revenue last year.

So it seems Zynn is no small effort. Notably, TikTok recently crossed 2 billion downloads globally, so what has Zynn done to create such massive traction to reach the number one spot in Apple’s US App Store? Created a pyramid scheme that pays its users to download, use, and refer the app.

If you download Zynn and sign up, one of the first prompts you’re greeted with is a pop-up that informs you that $1 has just been placed into your account. Refer a friend to Zynn and you’ll make $20 bucks. For every five friends you refer, you get an extra $10. Scroll through the Zynn video feed and you’ll also accumulate points which transfer into pocket change, adding to your monetary totals.

Here’s how it looks: