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11-07-2025
NEW YORK: TikTok is preparing to launch a standalone app for US users that is expected to operate on a separate algorithm and data system from its global app, laying the groundwork for a potential sale orchestrated by US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.
Over the past several months, TikTok employees have been working under tight deadlines to build a new, US-specific version of TikTok by transferring and duplicating the application’s codebase including AI models, algorithms, features, and user data from the global platform, current employees at the company told media, who requested anonymity while discussing private matters.
The move could open the door to resolving years of debate over whether the company would share what is considered the crown jewel of the ByteDance-owned short video-sharing platform, the recommendation algorithm powering the Chinese-owned platform, which has been at the center of the US-China technology standoff.
ByteDance and TikTok declined to comment.
The initiative, known internally as “M2”, has a September deadline and could represent the biggest technical break between TikTok’s US operations and its international business. The change is expected to impact how 170 million US users access global content and how non-US creators make money on the platform.
The new US-only app is designed to function independently, similar to Douyin, the version of TikTok available exclusively in mainland China. Users from outside the US will not find the American version in their app store, sources said.
Technical details of the upcoming US app are reported here for the first time. The Information first reported on the planned launch of the US TikTok app.
While current content is expected to migrate into the new app, it remains unclear to what degree new content from the global TikTok apps will be integrated into the US version. The new app is expected to use only data from US users to train its recommendation algorithms, further distancing it from TikTok’s global systems, sources added. As a result, most users will be recommended content generated within the US.
The push to separate TikTok’s US app from its global platform has been underway for months, as ByteDance executives prepared various plans to prevent a ban of the app in the US, a move required by recently passed legislation over data security concerns.
The future of the app used by nearly half of all Americans has been up in the air since a 2024 law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support; required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19.
Washington officials have said TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government and Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the US and collect data on Americans.
After the first deadline and a brief moment of “going dark” in January, TikTok began moving non-US user data out of American data centers run by Oracle, ensuring only US user data remained on servers in the US, paving the way for separating US and international businesses, according to sources.
The company has also been working on separating codebase for its core algorithm since last year, a move first reported by media and denied by the company at the time.
Once the split is completed, the core technology and ongoing development will be managed separately from the global TikTok team, although some ByteDance employees could continue supporting TikTok US in an outsourced capacity, one of the sources added. (Int’l News Desk)
