TikTok Prepares New App for US Users Amid Sale and Political Pressure
TikTok prepares new app specifically for its U.S. users as pressure builds over its ownership and operations. According to a report from The Information, the popular short-video platform is developing a separate version of its app, aimed at complying with U.S. government demands and ensuring continued service for American users. The move comes as President Donald Trump confirmed that talks with China about a potential TikTok deal will begin shortly.
The report says that TikTok wants this new version to come out in the U.S. app store on September 5. This change is part of TikTok’s larger plan to follow a U.S. executive order that says its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, must sell off its American assets. Trump pushed back the deadline for divestment to September 17 last month. This gave TikTok a short amount of time to finish its restructuring plan.
While TikTok prepares its new app, the current version will still remain functional for several more months. Users in the United States will reportedly have to download the new app to continue using the service beyond March of next year. However, the report cautioned that this timeline could change depending on how the situation unfolds politically and technically.
TikTok has yet to issue an official statement, and Reuters was unable to confirm the report independently. The platform also did not respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this year, a deal was in motion to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new, American-owned entity. The arrangement would have made the company majority-controlled and operated by U.S. investors. However, the plan was shelved after the Chinese government objected, particularly following Trump’s threats of increased tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump stated that a final agreement on TikTok would likely need approval from Beijing. “We pretty much have a deal,” he noted, but added that discussions with Chinese officials would begin in earnest soon.
A High-Stakes Digital Battle
The change shows how geopolitical tensions are changing the way global tech platforms work. TikTok is making a new app just for the U.S. market, and the company wants to stay in compliance and avoid a full ban. At the same time, it has to deal with the logistical problem of moving millions of users to a new system.
This risky move is a big deal for digital policy, ownership, and national security, with TikTok at the center of the U.S.-China technology fight.