TikTok is launching its latest feature, the 'Campus Hub', which aims to keep students connected with their campus communities even during summer breaks. The hub features dedicated college group chats and personalized feeds designed for students to stay plugged into campus life.

The new hub builds on TikTok's existing campus verification feature, allowing users to add their college campus to their profile and browse a list of fellow students at their university. This is particularly useful as it’s partnered with UNiDAYS, which confirms student status across more than 6,000 universities.

Once verified, students can create or join group chats with up to 300 classmates, exclusive to those from the same institution. These chats are intended for staying in touch, planning reunions and keeping conversations going over the summer. However, there’s a subtle hint that TikTok might be aiming to get students to use its app for everyday school communication, like class or club discussions.

Adding to this is the new college feed which surfaces content from both verified students and related university topics. This feature aims to keep students updated on campus life, trends and updates, no matter where they are. It echoes Facebook's early days when it was built around campuses, requiring a valid ‘.edu’ email address for verification.

It’s worth noting that TikTok isn’t the only social media giant aiming to make it easier for college students to connect with each other; Instagram also rolled out a similar feature last year. It begs the question: are we all just pawns in this grand scheme of online connectivity?