FAQs

TikTok has long stored US user data in the US and Singapore. For more than a year, we’ve been working with Oracle on several measures as part of our commercial relationship to better safeguard our app, systems, and the security of US user data.

We’ve now reached a significant milestone in that work: we’ve changed the default storage location of US user data. Today, 100% of US user traffic is being routed to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. We still use our US and Singapore data centers for backup, but as we continue our work we expect to delete US users’ private data from our own data centers and fully pivot to Oracle cloud servers located in the US. In addition, we’re working closely with Oracle to develop data management protocols that Oracle will audit and manage to give users even more peace of mind.

TikTok has never provided any US user data to the Chinese government, nor would it do so if asked.

TikTok has never provided any US user data to the Chinese government, nor would it do so if asked.

The TikTok app is not unique in the amount of information it collects, compared to other mobile apps. In line with industry practices, we collect information that users choose to provide to us and information that helps the app function, operate securely, and improve the user experience. Also like our peers, we constantly update our app to keep up with evolving security challenges. We encourage our users to download the most current version of TikTok.

We use the information collected to fulfill and enforce our Terms of Service, to improve and administer the Platform, and to allow you to use its functionalities. To learn more please read through our Privacy Policy. 

We retain your information for as long as it is necessary to provide you with the service so that we can fulfill our contractual obligations and exercise our rights in relation to the information involved. Where we do not need your information in order to provide the service to you, we retain it only as long as we have a legitimate business purpose in keeping such data or where we are subject to a legal obligation to retain the data. We will also retain your data if necessary for legal claims. For more information, click here.

Any user may submit a request to access or delete the information we have collected about you by sending a request to us at the email or physical address provided in the Contact section at the bottom of our privacy policy. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law and subject to proper verification. And we do not discriminate based on the exercise of any privacy rights that you might have.

Protecting the privacy and safety of our users’ data is critical to TikTok. Our security team is led by our Chief Security Officer, Roland Cloutier, who has decades of industry and US law enforcement experience. Our US Head of Safety leads a team in California that works diligently to protect users against content and accounts that violate our policies, like dangerous challenges and COVID-19 misinformation. We are committed to being transparent about how we execute our policies and safeguard our platform. We share regular Transparency Reports and you can learn more about our efforts to keep TikTok safe and secure on our Transparency webpage. In everything we do, we view through the lens of maintaining the privacy of our users. To learn more about our security and data privacy roadmap click here.

Our Community Guidelines prohibit misinformation that could cause harm to our community or the larger public, including content that misleads people about elections or other civic processes, content distributed by disinformation campaigns, and health misinformation. We always strive to be more transparent about our policies and content moderation, and today we’re updating these guidelines to better reflect the scope of our existing policies. These updates were developed with industry experts, and the language reflects input from members of our Content Advisory Council. Read more in our recent blog on the subject.

We have a clearly defined set of Community Guidelines. TikTok is an inclusive platform built upon the foundation of creative expression, and we expect that inclusivity from our user community. We encourage users to celebrate what makes them unique, while finding a community that does the same. Youth safety experts sit on our Content Advisory Council and we partner with youth safety organizations including the PTA, the Family Online Safety Institute, and Connect Safely. We also automatically disable direct messaging for registered accounts under 16.

The privacy of users under the age of 13 (“Younger Users”) is important to us. Our app has a 13+ rating so parents can use parental controls to prohibit their child from downloading it. For those that do, we provide a separate TikTok experience for users under 13-years-old. In this experience users can watch videos, but they can’t upload their own, comment, or send messages. For more information on our United States data collection practices for Younger Users, please visit the Privacy Policy for Younger Users.

We have a zero-tolerance policy on child sexual abuse material and grooming behavior. We automatically disable direct messaging and features like livestream for registered accounts under the age of 16. We go a step further to protect children by not allowing images to be sent via direct messagings, since research shows the majority of CSAM content is spread through direct and encrypted messaging. Flagged and suspected grooming behavior is escalated to our internal Child Safety Team (CST) to investigate. In line with international standards, we report all necessary information to NCMEC which works directly with law enforcement, and ban the offending user.

TikTok uses a combination of technology and content moderation to identify and remove content and accounts that don’t meet the standards we outline in our Community Guidelines. Our systems automatically flag certain types of content that may violate our policies, which enables us to take swift action and reduce potential harm. Our team of trained moderators reviews and removes content that’s flagged by technology or reported to us, and proactively investigates evolving or trending violative content, such as dangerous challenges or harmful misinformation. TikTok works with experts, civil society organizations, and a Content Advisory Council to help us address the challenges platforms face today and prepare us for the future.