TikTok copycat removed from Google's Play Store

Google has removed video app Zynn from its Play Store amid accusations it has been stealing content from other apps.

The TikTok-style app offers cash payouts to users who sign up and watch videos, and has became one of the most downloaded apps in the US.

But it has sparked a number of complaints from social media influencers who claim their videos are being reposted without permission.

Zynn said it had launched a new method for users to report plagiarism.

The popular video platform is funded by Kuaishou, the Chinese rival to TikTok owner ByteDance.

Zynn was first made available officially to users at the beginning of May.

However, according to Wired, many of the copycat accounts on the platform uploaded their first posts in February.

Users earn money on the app by watching videos and inviting friends to sign up.

Earnings can then be used to buy gift cards, or transferred via PayPal.

Now a number of popular TikTok users, some with millions of followers, have come forward claiming that accounts pretending to be them have begun appearing on Zynn.

“I feel that it’s honestly sad that they are stealing creators’ content and impersonating people,” a TikTok influencer told Wired.

The app's community guidelines ban users from posting "anything that you do not own or do not have permission from the owner to share".

Google has removed the app from its Play Store amid the controversy, although the tech giant has yet to confirm its reason for doing so.

The BBC has asked Zynn and Google for comment.

A spokesman for Apple said the company is "investigating" the app, which is currently still available on its app store.