Music Industry News

Is There a Separate US TikTok App In Development? Latest Reports Indicate it’s likely!

Martina
25 July 2025, Friday

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Amid facing a new deadline to divest its company in the USA, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is reportedly stockpiling some backup plans. According to undisclosed sources, as reported by The Information and Reuters, TikTok is currently developing a standalone US-based version of its original app should the ban come into effect.

A Aew TikTok Available Exclusively In the US?

More than enough has been written and said about TikTok’s future and the possibility of a nationwide ban, but if you need to catch up with the situation, here are some key points in the latest developments:

On January 18, 2025, TikTok went dark in the USA after ByteDance refused to sell the company before the PAFACA deadline.
The app became available again just a few hours later, after the then-new President-elect, Donald Trump, announced he would issue an executive order on the day of his inauguration.
On January 20, 2025, Trump indeed signed an executive order that gave ByteDance a 75-day period to divest the company before PAFACA is enforced.
Trump further stated that his administration would strive to strike a deal for the US to hold a "50% ownership position in a joint venture." Later, he created a sovereign wealth fund, which he suggested could be used to acquire TikTok.
On April 4, a day before the end of the non-enforcement period, Trump signed a second executive order, delaying the PAFACA enforcement by another 75 days.
Reportedly, Trump was close to closing a deal with ByteDance that would have included American investors owning TikTok, with the original Chinese-based owner maintaining a minority stake in the new venture. However, China withdrew its support for the agreement after Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.
On June 19, the third executive order was signed, postponing the ban for an additional 90 days.

The most recent extension is about to expire on September 17. In the meantime, Trump has shared that new talks between China and the USA over the possible deal are likely to start this month (July 2025).

It seems, however, that the Chinese-based company doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. According to reports from news outlets such as The Information and Reuters, ByteDance employees have been working tirelessly on developing a separate app for the US market, which resembles TikTok but allegedly implements some key changes to better suit the market.

The US app will use its own recommendation algorithm and will be trained exclusively on American user data. Allegedly, these measures are designed to address and mitigate the data privacy and national security concerns, while also helping the app comply with the new US legislation.

According to available sources, ByteDance staff have been working under intense deadlines to copy and transfer the original app’s codebase, which includes app features, AI models, and user data. Sources also state that internally, the project is called ‘M2’ and has a release deadline set for September 5, likely to align with the ban deadline.

As previously outlined, the new app will be available exclusively in the United States, meaning international users will not have access to it. At the same time, US-Americans will no longer have access to the international version. As reported, to retain access to TikTok after the ban takes effect, users will need to download the new app. However, the original TikTok app should stay available on the US market until March 2026.

The way it appears—assuming the reports are accurate—the US separation will be similar to China’s split of Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese version) from the international TikTok app. This would mean that instead of divesting the company, creating a new app (still based on TikTok) is simply more practical and/or of greater value to ByteDance.

What Would the New App Mean for Users and, Most Importantly, Artists?

How much of the new content created in the global app would likely make its way into the US version remains unclear. Likewise, it’s unknown how exactly the split will influence those who are used to monetizing their content on the app, both in and outside the US. It is, however, likely that international creators targeting US-American audiences will have to reconsider their approach.

For artists—especially those outside the US—the impact could be even more poignant. US-based musicians are likely to gain greater visibility within the domestic market but may see a reduction in their global reach. Meanwhile, international artists will encounter substantial hurdles accessing the US-American market, which may also affect cross-border collaborations and music discovery for the US audience.

But this is not where the impact ends as far as the music business goes. Marketers will also be affected and will need to reevaluate their digital marketing strategies. Additionally, A&R professionals and publishers may notice a dramatic change in how the new algorithm operates and influences song virality in the market.

But, perhaps we should hold off on evaluating the impact until the US version of TikTok is confirmed and, more importantly, launched. Until then, the future of TikTok in the US remains pretty uncertain. And who knows, maybe President Trump will announce a divestiture deal with ByteDance very soon!