TikTok is developing a separate version of its app for U.S. users due to the increasing scrutiny from the U.S. government. The new app is known internally as "M2" and is expected to go live on September 5, 2025. This is part of TikTok's response to a new U.S. law that requires its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the U.S. version of the app, otherwise a national ban will take place.
The current TikTok app will remain available in the U.S., at least until March 2026, giving users a months-long buffer to shift from the current app to the new one. The timeline may change, based on how quickly ByteDance can get approvals from U.S. and Chinese regulators.
The law authorizing this move, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was passed early in 2023. The Act specifically targets companies that have connection to conducting business under the influence of foreign governments. American lawmakers fear that TikTok could be used to harvest American user data, even though TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have emphatically denied these claims.
By building a separate, new app for the U.S., TikTok is demonstrating that it could function free of Chinese ownership if circumstances required that. The intent is to ding the ability for American investors to take over the U.S. version of the platform while respecting the Chinese export restrictions.
The app comes at a time when negotiations by U.S. and Chinese administration officials appear to be kicking into gear again, as former President Donald Trump recently claimed that a deal with TikTok is "pretty much" ready to be put in place, which implies that negotiations about the future of TikTok in the U.S. might be moving forward soon.
TikTok faces challenges similar to those in the past as well. In 2020, TikTok attempted to sell its U.S. operations but had that blocked when China added restrictions on exporting key technology - the recommendation algorithm - that runs the app. This time around, instead of transferring an existing app, TikTok is developing a new app that could ultimately be easier to isolate and sell.
For users in the United States, this means they may soon need to download a different TikTok app to continue using the TikTok platform. The company did not provide clarity on how the new app would be different, but it will only differ by how the user accesses the platform.
Information for users:
- The new U.S. version of TikTok (M2) is set to be released September 5, 2025.
- The current TikTok App will remain live in the U.S. until at least March 2026.
- The transition depends on how quickly ByteDance meets U.S. and Chinese legal obligations.
Until there is an official sale finalized and the new app is active, TikTok's status in the U.S. market will still remain uncertain. Although TikTok is taking steps to either transition to a new app or sell itself in order to maintain a continued presence in the U.S. market.
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