How does tiktok company earn money? [closed]





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6
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I would like to know how does the company tiktok make or earn money?



They're not showing any ads, but their users are increasing and their video upload rate is increasing.



Even they have 500 million monthly active users



Also I saw they send t-shirts to more active account owners.



How do they manage the cost of it?










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closed as off-topic by Dheer, Fattie, Chris W. Rea, Bob Baerker, Grade 'Eh' Bacon Nov 20 at 13:30



  • This question does not appear to be about Personal Finance within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.









  • 1




    "There not showing any ads" ... yet ;-)
    – Mawg
    Nov 20 at 8:43






  • 7




    Chinese company with access to 500 millions people data. Hoe does they make money? Hey, you wanna buy dome data?
    – SZCZERZO KŁY
    Nov 20 at 10:57






  • 3




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because spam
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:40






  • 6




    Also how is this personal finance ?
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:41






  • 5




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about personal finance.
    – Chris W. Rea
    Nov 20 at 12:04

















up vote
6
down vote

favorite












I would like to know how does the company tiktok make or earn money?



They're not showing any ads, but their users are increasing and their video upload rate is increasing.



Even they have 500 million monthly active users



Also I saw they send t-shirts to more active account owners.



How do they manage the cost of it?










share|improve this question















closed as off-topic by Dheer, Fattie, Chris W. Rea, Bob Baerker, Grade 'Eh' Bacon Nov 20 at 13:30



  • This question does not appear to be about Personal Finance within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.









  • 1




    "There not showing any ads" ... yet ;-)
    – Mawg
    Nov 20 at 8:43






  • 7




    Chinese company with access to 500 millions people data. Hoe does they make money? Hey, you wanna buy dome data?
    – SZCZERZO KŁY
    Nov 20 at 10:57






  • 3




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because spam
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:40






  • 6




    Also how is this personal finance ?
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:41






  • 5




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about personal finance.
    – Chris W. Rea
    Nov 20 at 12:04













up vote
6
down vote

favorite









up vote
6
down vote

favorite











I would like to know how does the company tiktok make or earn money?



They're not showing any ads, but their users are increasing and their video upload rate is increasing.



Even they have 500 million monthly active users



Also I saw they send t-shirts to more active account owners.



How do they manage the cost of it?










share|improve this question















I would like to know how does the company tiktok make or earn money?



They're not showing any ads, but their users are increasing and their video upload rate is increasing.



Even they have 500 million monthly active users



Also I saw they send t-shirts to more active account owners.



How do they manage the cost of it?







business money-market






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Nov 20 at 14:45









Community

1




1










asked Nov 20 at 7:07









Ind

475




475




closed as off-topic by Dheer, Fattie, Chris W. Rea, Bob Baerker, Grade 'Eh' Bacon Nov 20 at 13:30



  • This question does not appear to be about Personal Finance within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.




closed as off-topic by Dheer, Fattie, Chris W. Rea, Bob Baerker, Grade 'Eh' Bacon Nov 20 at 13:30



  • This question does not appear to be about Personal Finance within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.








  • 1




    "There not showing any ads" ... yet ;-)
    – Mawg
    Nov 20 at 8:43






  • 7




    Chinese company with access to 500 millions people data. Hoe does they make money? Hey, you wanna buy dome data?
    – SZCZERZO KŁY
    Nov 20 at 10:57






  • 3




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because spam
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:40






  • 6




    Also how is this personal finance ?
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:41






  • 5




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about personal finance.
    – Chris W. Rea
    Nov 20 at 12:04














  • 1




    "There not showing any ads" ... yet ;-)
    – Mawg
    Nov 20 at 8:43






  • 7




    Chinese company with access to 500 millions people data. Hoe does they make money? Hey, you wanna buy dome data?
    – SZCZERZO KŁY
    Nov 20 at 10:57






  • 3




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because spam
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:40






  • 6




    Also how is this personal finance ?
    – Fattie
    Nov 20 at 11:41






  • 5




    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about personal finance.
    – Chris W. Rea
    Nov 20 at 12:04








1




1




"There not showing any ads" ... yet ;-)
– Mawg
Nov 20 at 8:43




"There not showing any ads" ... yet ;-)
– Mawg
Nov 20 at 8:43




7




7




Chinese company with access to 500 millions people data. Hoe does they make money? Hey, you wanna buy dome data?
– SZCZERZO KŁY
Nov 20 at 10:57




Chinese company with access to 500 millions people data. Hoe does they make money? Hey, you wanna buy dome data?
– SZCZERZO KŁY
Nov 20 at 10:57




3




3




I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because spam
– Fattie
Nov 20 at 11:40




I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because spam
– Fattie
Nov 20 at 11:40




6




6




Also how is this personal finance ?
– Fattie
Nov 20 at 11:41




Also how is this personal finance ?
– Fattie
Nov 20 at 11:41




5




5




I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about personal finance.
– Chris W. Rea
Nov 20 at 12:04




I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not about personal finance.
– Chris W. Rea
Nov 20 at 12:04










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
14
down vote













First off you need to consider startups aggressively subsidize their offer early on in order to capture market share. Popular examples of startups valued at billions of $ that were/are in the red include household names like Uber & Spotify that bled money for years on end.
Also, take note social media platforms aim for the network effect and its a crucial aspect of their success or demise (see myspace among a myriad more) so market share becomes all the more crucial in this case.



It is, of course, possible to monetize their user base through ads in the future(as in IG/FB) or enable premium features(as in Spotify/Tinder) but I think this goes beyond just that.



It may sound cliche nowadays but when you don't know what the product is then it most likely is you. Don't forget who owns TikTok, ByteDance which may sound like a random name to a westerner but its a huge Chinese media company with immense success harnessing their user's data through operating several machine learning-enabled content platforms.



It also may be the case they don't intend to make any money off it in the first place, rather use it as a foot on the door to get into the western world where they can leverage their hard-earned expertise globally for bigger and better ventures and what better way to do this by getting into an app primarily aimed to an US-based teenager demographic(one of the best consumer audience group possibly imaginable).






share|improve this answer




























    up vote
    2
    down vote













    Many companies offer free services to individuals, but charge corporate users for support (example: Red Hat Linux). Could it be that?



    Otherwise, it is fairly common practise to offer free services to build a critical amass of users. Once acquired, you can start charging them, although you will probably lose many users. Or, you could introduce premium services, after having let them use the free stuff for long enough to get hooked. Or, even just start advertising.



    Another alternative is to grow something so big and attractive that it is bought out by Google, FaceBook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. I remember 20 years ago, when Microsoft paid two college kids over $400 million to buy Hotmail.



    In short, we can’t really know what they plan unless they say so publicly. Did you Google? Maybe there is something in the trade press? Failing that, all you can do is wait and see what happens.





    [Update] And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.






    share|improve this answer



















    • 2




      TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
      – Leon
      Nov 20 at 9:34












    • Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
      – Mawg
      Nov 20 at 9:55










    • And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
      – Mawg
      Nov 20 at 9:56






    • 1




      No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
      – Leon
      Nov 20 at 10:14






    • 1




      I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
      – Mawg
      Nov 20 at 10:16


















    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes








    up vote
    14
    down vote













    First off you need to consider startups aggressively subsidize their offer early on in order to capture market share. Popular examples of startups valued at billions of $ that were/are in the red include household names like Uber & Spotify that bled money for years on end.
    Also, take note social media platforms aim for the network effect and its a crucial aspect of their success or demise (see myspace among a myriad more) so market share becomes all the more crucial in this case.



    It is, of course, possible to monetize their user base through ads in the future(as in IG/FB) or enable premium features(as in Spotify/Tinder) but I think this goes beyond just that.



    It may sound cliche nowadays but when you don't know what the product is then it most likely is you. Don't forget who owns TikTok, ByteDance which may sound like a random name to a westerner but its a huge Chinese media company with immense success harnessing their user's data through operating several machine learning-enabled content platforms.



    It also may be the case they don't intend to make any money off it in the first place, rather use it as a foot on the door to get into the western world where they can leverage their hard-earned expertise globally for bigger and better ventures and what better way to do this by getting into an app primarily aimed to an US-based teenager demographic(one of the best consumer audience group possibly imaginable).






    share|improve this answer

























      up vote
      14
      down vote













      First off you need to consider startups aggressively subsidize their offer early on in order to capture market share. Popular examples of startups valued at billions of $ that were/are in the red include household names like Uber & Spotify that bled money for years on end.
      Also, take note social media platforms aim for the network effect and its a crucial aspect of their success or demise (see myspace among a myriad more) so market share becomes all the more crucial in this case.



      It is, of course, possible to monetize their user base through ads in the future(as in IG/FB) or enable premium features(as in Spotify/Tinder) but I think this goes beyond just that.



      It may sound cliche nowadays but when you don't know what the product is then it most likely is you. Don't forget who owns TikTok, ByteDance which may sound like a random name to a westerner but its a huge Chinese media company with immense success harnessing their user's data through operating several machine learning-enabled content platforms.



      It also may be the case they don't intend to make any money off it in the first place, rather use it as a foot on the door to get into the western world where they can leverage their hard-earned expertise globally for bigger and better ventures and what better way to do this by getting into an app primarily aimed to an US-based teenager demographic(one of the best consumer audience group possibly imaginable).






      share|improve this answer























        up vote
        14
        down vote










        up vote
        14
        down vote









        First off you need to consider startups aggressively subsidize their offer early on in order to capture market share. Popular examples of startups valued at billions of $ that were/are in the red include household names like Uber & Spotify that bled money for years on end.
        Also, take note social media platforms aim for the network effect and its a crucial aspect of their success or demise (see myspace among a myriad more) so market share becomes all the more crucial in this case.



        It is, of course, possible to monetize their user base through ads in the future(as in IG/FB) or enable premium features(as in Spotify/Tinder) but I think this goes beyond just that.



        It may sound cliche nowadays but when you don't know what the product is then it most likely is you. Don't forget who owns TikTok, ByteDance which may sound like a random name to a westerner but its a huge Chinese media company with immense success harnessing their user's data through operating several machine learning-enabled content platforms.



        It also may be the case they don't intend to make any money off it in the first place, rather use it as a foot on the door to get into the western world where they can leverage their hard-earned expertise globally for bigger and better ventures and what better way to do this by getting into an app primarily aimed to an US-based teenager demographic(one of the best consumer audience group possibly imaginable).






        share|improve this answer












        First off you need to consider startups aggressively subsidize their offer early on in order to capture market share. Popular examples of startups valued at billions of $ that were/are in the red include household names like Uber & Spotify that bled money for years on end.
        Also, take note social media platforms aim for the network effect and its a crucial aspect of their success or demise (see myspace among a myriad more) so market share becomes all the more crucial in this case.



        It is, of course, possible to monetize their user base through ads in the future(as in IG/FB) or enable premium features(as in Spotify/Tinder) but I think this goes beyond just that.



        It may sound cliche nowadays but when you don't know what the product is then it most likely is you. Don't forget who owns TikTok, ByteDance which may sound like a random name to a westerner but its a huge Chinese media company with immense success harnessing their user's data through operating several machine learning-enabled content platforms.



        It also may be the case they don't intend to make any money off it in the first place, rather use it as a foot on the door to get into the western world where they can leverage their hard-earned expertise globally for bigger and better ventures and what better way to do this by getting into an app primarily aimed to an US-based teenager demographic(one of the best consumer audience group possibly imaginable).







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered Nov 20 at 9:32









        Leon

        2,0311318




        2,0311318
























            up vote
            2
            down vote













            Many companies offer free services to individuals, but charge corporate users for support (example: Red Hat Linux). Could it be that?



            Otherwise, it is fairly common practise to offer free services to build a critical amass of users. Once acquired, you can start charging them, although you will probably lose many users. Or, you could introduce premium services, after having let them use the free stuff for long enough to get hooked. Or, even just start advertising.



            Another alternative is to grow something so big and attractive that it is bought out by Google, FaceBook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. I remember 20 years ago, when Microsoft paid two college kids over $400 million to buy Hotmail.



            In short, we can’t really know what they plan unless they say so publicly. Did you Google? Maybe there is something in the trade press? Failing that, all you can do is wait and see what happens.





            [Update] And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.






            share|improve this answer



















            • 2




              TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 9:34












            • Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:55










            • And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:56






            • 1




              No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 10:14






            • 1




              I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 10:16















            up vote
            2
            down vote













            Many companies offer free services to individuals, but charge corporate users for support (example: Red Hat Linux). Could it be that?



            Otherwise, it is fairly common practise to offer free services to build a critical amass of users. Once acquired, you can start charging them, although you will probably lose many users. Or, you could introduce premium services, after having let them use the free stuff for long enough to get hooked. Or, even just start advertising.



            Another alternative is to grow something so big and attractive that it is bought out by Google, FaceBook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. I remember 20 years ago, when Microsoft paid two college kids over $400 million to buy Hotmail.



            In short, we can’t really know what they plan unless they say so publicly. Did you Google? Maybe there is something in the trade press? Failing that, all you can do is wait and see what happens.





            [Update] And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.






            share|improve this answer



















            • 2




              TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 9:34












            • Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:55










            • And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:56






            • 1




              No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 10:14






            • 1




              I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 10:16













            up vote
            2
            down vote










            up vote
            2
            down vote









            Many companies offer free services to individuals, but charge corporate users for support (example: Red Hat Linux). Could it be that?



            Otherwise, it is fairly common practise to offer free services to build a critical amass of users. Once acquired, you can start charging them, although you will probably lose many users. Or, you could introduce premium services, after having let them use the free stuff for long enough to get hooked. Or, even just start advertising.



            Another alternative is to grow something so big and attractive that it is bought out by Google, FaceBook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. I remember 20 years ago, when Microsoft paid two college kids over $400 million to buy Hotmail.



            In short, we can’t really know what they plan unless they say so publicly. Did you Google? Maybe there is something in the trade press? Failing that, all you can do is wait and see what happens.





            [Update] And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.






            share|improve this answer














            Many companies offer free services to individuals, but charge corporate users for support (example: Red Hat Linux). Could it be that?



            Otherwise, it is fairly common practise to offer free services to build a critical amass of users. Once acquired, you can start charging them, although you will probably lose many users. Or, you could introduce premium services, after having let them use the free stuff for long enough to get hooked. Or, even just start advertising.



            Another alternative is to grow something so big and attractive that it is bought out by Google, FaceBook, Amazon, Twitter, etc. I remember 20 years ago, when Microsoft paid two college kids over $400 million to buy Hotmail.



            In short, we can’t really know what they plan unless they say so publicly. Did you Google? Maybe there is something in the trade press? Failing that, all you can do is wait and see what happens.





            [Update] And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Nov 20 at 10:16

























            answered Nov 20 at 9:08









            Mawg

            29229




            29229








            • 2




              TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 9:34












            • Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:55










            • And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:56






            • 1




              No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 10:14






            • 1




              I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 10:16














            • 2




              TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 9:34












            • Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:55










            • And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 9:56






            • 1




              No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
              – Leon
              Nov 20 at 10:14






            • 1




              I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
              – Mawg
              Nov 20 at 10:16








            2




            2




            TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
            – Leon
            Nov 20 at 9:34






            TikTok is a social media video app so I dont think RHEL's use case applies tho this by any means. Agreed on the 2nd paragraph but the 3rd one seems off, in fact, Bytedance shelled out 1b$ to buy musical.ly (to be integrated into TikTok) in the first place. If anything they want to be as big as the companies you mentioned not sell to them.
            – Leon
            Nov 20 at 9:34














            Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
            – Mawg
            Nov 20 at 9:55




            Thanks for the feedback. As the OP did not bother to link to TikTok, I did not bother to Google :-/ and just gave a generic answer. Sounds like they are aiming to be the enxt YouTube? If so, I would expect the marketing model to be the same.
            – Mawg
            Nov 20 at 9:55












            And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
            – Mawg
            Nov 20 at 9:56




            And don't forget - if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product. No doubt they collect - and sell - lots of user data.
            – Mawg
            Nov 20 at 9:56




            1




            1




            No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
            – Leon
            Nov 20 at 10:14




            No worries. Imo Bytedance aims to become Google in that youtube analogy, not just a mere single platform(Youtube). I covered that in my answer also, they re a machine learning focus media platform provider for a 1bn people market(Chinese one) so yeah it only makes sense to use that data for profit among other things.
            – Leon
            Nov 20 at 10:14




            1




            1




            I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
            – Mawg
            Nov 20 at 10:16




            I think I will fold that last part into my answer (and upvote your answer ;-)
            – Mawg
            Nov 20 at 10:16



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