TikTok is reportedly working on a separate version of its app tailored for U.S. users, as pressure mounts ahead of a September 17 deadline for its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest its American operations.
The move, first reported by The Information, suggests that the social media platform is laying technical groundwork for a potential change in ownership — one that could drastically reshape its presence in the U.S. market.
According to sources cited in the report, the revamped U.S.-specific TikTok app is scheduled to launch in American app stores on September 5. Users currently on the existing global version will eventually need to download the new app to continue accessing the service, though the current app will remain functional until March 2026. The timeline, however, remains fluid and may shift based on political and regulatory developments.
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A Response to Washington’s Pressure
The development comes just days after President Donald Trump told reporters he would open talks with China on Monday or Tuesday to finalize what he called a “pretty much” completed deal over TikTok’s future in the United States.
Trump has for years accused TikTok of posing a national security threat due to its ties to China, where its parent company ByteDance is headquartered. The administration’s stance hardened after Trump announced new rounds of steep tariffs on Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to stall approval of an earlier deal that would have spun off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a company majority-owned and managed by American investors.
Trump’s latest remarks suggest negotiations may resume with an eye on securing Chinese regulatory approval for the long-delayed restructuring plan.
New App, New Ownership
The updated U.S. version of the app is part of TikTok’s broader strategy to comply with American regulatory demands, especially regarding data security, algorithm control, and ownership transparency. The sale of TikTok’s U.S. business to a group of American investors — possibly including firms like Oracle or Walmart, who had been involved in earlier negotiations — remains under active consideration.
TikTok has not commented on the report, and the timeline or app development details have not been independently verified.
Nonetheless, if confirmed, the decision to require U.S. users to migrate to a new app would mark a significant technical and symbolic shift — effectively carving out the U.S. market from the global TikTok ecosystem. It would also give the yet-to-be-named American-owned entity control over the U.S. user base, local content moderation, and possibly even a separate recommendation algorithm tailored for American regulations and values.
China’s Role Still Key
Despite President Trump’s insistence that the U.S. has a deal “pretty much” ready, any final arrangement will likely require Beijing’s blessing. China had previously tightened export rules around algorithms — the core of TikTok’s viral success — complicating any plans to transfer or duplicate the app’s recommendation engine abroad.
It remains unclear what concessions, if any, would be made by either side to unlock regulatory gridlock.
What This Means for Users
For the more than 170 million Americans who use TikTok, the upcoming split could mean re-downloading a new app, accepting new terms of service, and possibly adjusting to changes in features or content curation. TikTok has not confirmed whether the U.S. version would look or feel any different from the current app, but many expect more pronounced separation in data handling and moderation policies.
The existing app is expected to continue to function, though it may become increasingly isolated from global content trends as infrastructure and back-end systems diverge, until the March 2026 cutoff.