Is TikTok U.S. broken, or working as intended? 3 ‘terrifying’ Terms of Service changes may explain what’s really going on

As you may have seen, the first few days of TikTok’s new U.S. ownership have been a little rocky. Service issues have meant that people have been struggling to upload videos and seeing zero view counts on their content.

But security experts have raised concerns, and TikTok users are sharing new fears that this may all be by design — with several calling it "terrifying."

It's because of changes to TikTok’s terms of service once the deal was done. So let’s talk about it — what’s actually new, and what can you do to protect your privacy?

What happened in January 2026?

The deal we’ve all been waiting for became official. No more pushing the ban date further into the distance — TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC was formed, and an 80.1% stake of this part of the platform is now owned by U.S. investors (Oracle, Silver Lake, etc.).

In order to make this transition work, the Terms of Service needed to be changed for the U.S. entity of TikTok to comply with national security demands and state laws like California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These rules require companies to be much more explicit about what is happening with the data you submit to their services.

So while a lot of these explicit disclosures are not necessarily “new” things TikTok is doing, there are still some small but significant alterations that we’ve got to talk about here.

What are these three big TOS changes?

I’m going to split this list into two: changes that seem like they were part of the compliance shift and those that seem to be new.

Collection of sensitive identity data: Compliance

TikTok’s algorithm is largely believed to have been collecting this information in the past anyway to tailor the For You page to your tastes.

That doesn’t make it any less alarming to see the service may collect immigration status, gender identity, religious and racial origin, and medical diagnoses. But it’s worth putting into context that Meta does also collect these kinds of information under its privacy policy, though it doesn’t mention “immigration status.”

"TikTok is required under those laws to notify users in the privacy policy that the sensitive personal information is being collected, how it is being used, and with whom it is being shared," Jennifer Daniels, Partner at Blank Rome law firm, told TechCrunch.

“What reads as transparency to a regulator reads as a confession to a worried user.”

Pre-upload content scanning: Compliance

Another alarming one, but something that has existed as early as May 2025. The new terms clarify that TikTok reserves the right to scan user-generated content, even while they are still in the “pre-uploading” stage.

That means any video you record in the app and decide not to post it may still be analyzed. The app did this previously to help identify privacy violations before they happen and pre-tag your user interests. But even if it’s not new, seeing it explicitly stated does give you the feeling someone’s looking over your shoulder.

Precise Geolocation: New

This is a new one. Location tracking in the older version of TikTok was for “approximate” location based on your IP address. Now, it’s “precise” GPS-based tracking. Other social media platforms have been doing this for a while, as others have pointed out.

“It is ultimately just trying to bring the level of surveillance detail to TikTok that has been available to a lot of other social media services,” George Kamide, co-host of the cybersecurity podcast “Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks,” told HuffPost.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s any less alarming, and you do have the option to opt out.

What can you do about it?

If you’re reading this and feeling (understandably) concerned, the first thing you could do is not accept the new Terms of Service and delete the app.

It’s not necessarily these things in isolation that are problematic; it’s what happens when they come together, and you see the massive Government stake in this app now.

That’s the reason why you’ve probably seen many people call this "terrifying," and competitors like Upscrolled have rocketed up to 12th in Apple’s App Store because of this shift — so you do have other options.

However, if you want to stick with TikTok, there are three things you can do:

Are these changes enough to make you delete TikTok yourself? Or are you happy with the new requirements to keep using it? Either way, let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.

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