TikTok Uninstalls Spike After U.S. Joint Venture Announcement, Even as Usage Holds Steady

TikTok is facing a noticeable backlash from parts of its U.S. user base after unveiling a new joint venture structure designed to keep the app operating in the country under American leadership. According to data from Sensor Tower, the daily average number of U.S. users deleting TikTok has jumped nearly 150% over the past five days compared with the average of the prior three months.

The increase followed TikTok’s announcement last Thursday that its U.S. operations would be transferred into a newly formed joint venture, with Adam Presser — previously the company’s head of operations and trust and safety — appointed as chief executive. The move was framed as a way to address U.S. national security concerns and ensure continuity for American users.

However, the announcement triggered a wave of skepticism online, particularly after users were prompted to accept an updated privacy policy. On social media, some users flagged language describing the types of data TikTok may collect, including sensitive personal information. While those provisions were already present in earlier versions of the policy, including one from August 2024, the renewed attention appeared to fuel distrust around the platform’s future direction.

Several prominent creators publicly announced their decision to leave the app. Dre Ronayne, a creator with nearly 400,000 followers, said she deleted her TikTok account over concerns about content control and platform policies, encouraging others to do the same. Similar sentiments spread across platforms such as Threads, owned by Meta.

Uncertainty has also been compounded by technical issues. Some creators reported outages and difficulties uploading videos in the days following the joint venture announcement. Nadya Okamoto, a TikTok creator with more than 4 million followers, told CNBC that creators have received little clarity from the company about what the new structure means for them, contributing to anxiety across the community. During the disruption, she said she has shifted more of her activity to other platforms, including Instagram and YouTube.

An account associated with the TikTok joint venture later said the service disruption stemmed from a power outage at a U.S. data center and that efforts were underway to stabilize operations.

Despite the spike in uninstalls, Sensor Tower data suggests TikTok’s overall U.S. active user levels have remained relatively flat week over week, indicating that the platform’s core user base has not yet meaningfully shrunk. Still, rival apps appear to be benefiting from the uncertainty. Downloads of smaller social platforms surged over the same period, suggesting that some users are at least experimenting with alternatives.

The diverging trends — rising deletions alongside steady usage — highlight a fragile moment for TikTok as it navigates regulatory pressure, operational changes and creator trust, all while trying to reassure users that the app’s experience and reach will remain intact under its new U.S. structure.