TikTok is rolling out a new feature that allows college students to connect with peers on their campuses, in a move reminiscent of Facebook’s early beginnings.

The feature, called Campus Verification, lets users add their school to their profile, verify enrollment, and browse a directory of fellow students.

To activate the feature, users navigate to their profile, tap “Add school,” enter their institution’s name, and select their graduation year. Verification is completed by providing an academic email address, after which the school name and class year appear on the profile.

Once verified, students gain access to a school-specific page, where they can filter by graduation year and view others who have registered. The directory can also be sorted to highlight the most-followed users.

The feature is available across more than 6,000 universities through TikTok’s partnership with UNiDAYS, a student verification platform. The company says the goal is to strengthen real-world connections and foster a sense of belonging among students—a mission similar to Facebook’s when it launched at Harvard in 2004.

TikTok suggests the update will be particularly useful for students looking to expand their social circles or collaborate on campus activities. However, it has also sparked privacy concerns, as linking profiles to specific campuses could make it easier to track individuals online.

The company emphasized that the feature is optional, allowing users to keep their student identity separate from their TikTok presence if they choose.

The rollout comes as competition among social platforms for younger users intensifies. Instagram was spotted testing a comparable feature last year, which would allow users to display school and graduation details, though Meta has yet to announce whether it will move forward with the launch.