On March 14th, 2025, TikTok for Developers collaborated with executives from the Stanford Graduate School of Business LEAD program to host an insightful event focused on cutting-edge technologies, multimedia innovation, digital privacy, and the exciting new cross-platform Lynx framework. The event brought together industry experts, developers, researchers, and tech enthusiasts, creating an engaging space for dialogue and innovation.

Event highlights

Opening remarks and agenda overview

The session began with a warm welcome by Tina Tsou, Director of External Tech Influence, who shared TikTok for Developers' mission and the day's key objectives. Attendees were introduced to the latest advancements in multimedia, digital privacy, and the power of the Lynx platform, which was recently made open source.

TikTok's video laddering system (TLadder)

A featured presentation spotlighted TikTok's advanced video streaming optimization system, TLadder. Presented by Feng Qian, a research engineer, and his team, the talk detailed how TLadder dynamically adjusts video quality using Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR) algorithms based on real-time network conditions and video complexities. The system uses dynamic programming for bitrate ladder optimization, significantly improving video quality and playback smoothness for billions of users worldwide. It strategically generates optimal video representations to match diverse global network conditions and content complexities efficiently.

Introduction to Lynx open source framework

Participants were introduced to Lynx, a cross-platform application development framework that was recently made open source. Lynx allows developers to write code once and deploy it seamlessly across Android, iOS, Web, OpenHarmony, macOS, and Windows. Featuring innovations like instant first-frame rendering (IFR) and main thread scripting (MTS), Lynx significantly improves user experience and and simplifies the complexities of multi-platform development.

Additional features and platform support will be released later this year, as outlined in the Lynx Roadmap. Notable applications developed with Lynx include TikTok Shop, TikTok Creator Studio, and TikTok Live.

Privacy-preserving solutions for advertising

Digital advertising privacy was another key focus. Jian Du from TikTok's Privacy Innovation Lab presented their privacy-preserving ad measurement solution leveraging Secure Multi-party Computation (MPC). This innovative solution encrypts data from both TikTok and advertisers, allowing aggregate data analysis without compromising user privacy. Using double encryption, the MPC solution ensures data remains encrypted throughout computations, significantly enhancing privacy and security.

Now integrated into TikTok for Business, this MPC solution offers superior security and efficiency, allowing advertisers to measure ad efficacy without sharing unencrypted user data. Open source for transparency and trust, it represents a major advancement in privacy-preserving digital advertising.

Networking and collaboration

The event concluded with a networking session that provided attendees opportunities to discuss ideas, share insights, and explore collaborations. This interactive format allowed for deep dives into specific technologies and provided clarity on implementation strategies, application scenarios, and future developments.

Looking ahead

TikTok for Developers continues its mission to empower developers through innovation, privacy-preserving technologies, and open source contributions. With the Lynx framework, TLadder streaming optimization, and privacy-enhancing advertising solutions, TikTok for Developers remains committed to advancing technology development, improving user experience, and promoting responsible data use.

Stay tuned for future TikTok for Developers events and innovations. Explore our repositories, engage with the community, and let's build the future of digital experiences together.