TikTok Users Flee App After Joint Venture Announcement

When a company tries to save itself, sometimes it only accelerates its demise. TikTok's attempt to appease regulators with a new joint venture has backfired spectacularly, with app uninstalls surging 150% over the past five days compared to the previous three months.

The exodus began last Thursday when TikTok announced it had formed a joint venture to keep operating in the US under new American leadership. Adam Presser, formerly TikTok's head of operations, was named CEO of the joint venture. But instead of reassuring users, the move triggered a wave of deletions and skepticism.

Privacy Policy Panic

The trouble started when users were prompted to agree to an updated privacy policy on Thursday. Social media erupted with concerns over language describing the types of data TikTok may collect, including sensitive information such as "racial or ethnic origin," "sexual life or sexual orientation," "status as transgender or nonbinary," "citizenship or immigration status," and "financial information."

Here's the twist: that language isn't new. An archived version from August 2024 includes identical provisions. Yet the timing of the privacy policy update alongside the joint venture announcement created a perfect storm of user distrust.

"If I can delete my biggest platform because their terms of agreement and censorship have gotten out of control, so can you!" creator Dre Ronayne posted on Meta'sThreads. She had nearly 400,000 followers before deleting her TikTok account on Sunday.

Creators in the Dark

Nadya Okamoto, a TikTok creator with over 4 million followers, told CNBC that TikTok hasn't communicated what the joint venture means for creators. "That's why there is so much paranoia, because we're all kind of looking at this platform and we just don't know what's happening."

Okamoto has experienced app issues over the past several days and couldn't upload videos for roughly 24 hours. During the uncertainty, she's continuing to post content on Instagram and YouTube.

"Online there's a lot of conversation about — is this all coincidence or censorship, and what does this look like?" she said. "For everything to be happening at once, it is very scary."

Technical Issues or Something More?

An X account associated with the TikTok joint venture blamed Monday's service issues on "a power outage at a US data center." The account promised to work with their data center partner to stabilize service.

But the explanation hasn't quelled user suspicions. The coincidence of technical problems, privacy policy updates, and corporate restructuring has fueled conspiracy theories about intentional censorship.

Winners and Losers

Ironically, despite the uninstall surge, TikTok's active user levels in the US have remained relatively flat compared to the previous week, according to Sensor Tower. Users may be deleting the app but not necessarily abandoning it entirely.

The real winners are competing apps. US downloads for UpScrolled increased more than tenfold compared to the prior week, while Skylight Social rose 919% and Chinese-owned Rednote climbed 53% week over week.

The Trust Paradox

TikTok's joint venture was designed as a solution to regulatory pressure, but it's created new problems. The company tried to demonstrate American control while maintaining Chinese ownership—a balancing act that satisfied no one.