TikTok Just Changed Its Terms of Service: 5 Things Creators Must Know Right Now

You Clicked "Agree." But Do You Know What You Agreed To?

On January 23, 2026, millions of TikTok users opened the app and were met with a pop-up. New Terms of Service. One button. No option to decline.

Most people tapped "Agree" and kept scrolling. A smaller group went to Reddit. An even smaller group actually read the document.

What followed was a wave of panic, viral misinformation, creator confusion, and a 130% spike in TikTok uninstalls — all in the same week. The chaos was partly understandable and partly overblown. Because the truth is more nuanced than "TikTok now owns your content" and more concerning than "nothing changed."

Here's what actually happened, what it means for creators building income on the platform, and the five changes that genuinely matter.

First: What Triggered the Update

The January 22, 2026 Terms of Service update didn't arrive in isolation. It came bundled with one of the biggest ownership shifts in social media history.

After years of legal battles, a near-ban in early 2025, and months of negotiations, TikTok's US business formally spun off into a new entity: TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. American investors — including Oracle, Silver Lake, and UAE firm MGX — now hold 80.1% of the venture. ByteDance retains just 19.9%. US user data is now stored domestically. The recommendation algorithm is being retrained on American data.

For creators, this means the platform you've been building on is structurally different than it was six months ago. And the Terms of Service reflect that shift.

To make things more confusing, the January 2026 ToS update wasn't the only recent policy change. TikTok also rolled out major updates in July 2025 and September 2025 — covering branded content disclosure, community guidelines, and AI labeling requirements. Those updates are now fully active. Most existing coverage conflates all three waves into one story, which is exactly why so many creators don't know which rule applies to what.

Let's break it down into the five things that actually matter.

1. You Still Own Your Content — But TikTok Has a Very Wide License

This was the claim that spread fastest: "TikTok now owns your videos."

It's not accurate. The Terms of Service are clear that creators retain ownership of their content. But what they also retain — and this is the part that gets buried — is the broad, royalty-free, irrevocable license they granted TikTok the moment they posted anything.

Under the current ToS, TikTok can use your content to operate and improve the platform. They can use it to train algorithms. They can use your name, profile image, and username in connection with ads and sponsored content that you interact with — without additional compensation — unless a separate commercial agreement exists.

Think of it this way: you own the house. But TikTok has a master key, and the lease says they can use the rooms for certain purposes without asking again.

This is not new language. But it is newly relevant given the ownership change, the shift to an American-controlled ad infrastructure, and the fact that TikTok's ad targeting has now formally expanded beyond the app itself. Your data — and your content — now powers ads across the broader web. That's a real change, and it's underreported.

What this means practically: Understand that anything you post on TikTok is contributing to an ad ecosystem you can't fully opt out of. If brand protection matters to you, knowing where your content can appear and how your likeness can be used is the starting point — not an afterthought.

2. TikTok Is Scanning Your Content Before You Post It

This one is buried deep in the updated policy and almost no mainstream coverage addressed it clearly.

TikTok's Terms of Service now explicitly state that the platform may scan user-generated content — including posts, comments, livestreams, audio messages, and virtual items — whether they are published or still in the pre-uploading stage. This includes content that has been anonymised by filters or altered using generative AI.

In plain terms: your drafts are not private.

TikTok says this scanning is how the platform recommends trending audio and generates hashtags while you're still editing. That's a legitimate technical explanation. But it also means that if you're a business, a creator, or a brand that uploads sensitive material to TikTok's draft folder — unfinished campaigns, unreleased products, proprietary visuals — that content is being analysed before it ever goes live.

For most creators, this changes nothing day-to-day. For creators handling commercially sensitive material or building products they haven't announced yet, it's a meaningful data point about what you should and shouldn't upload to the platform.

3. Branded Content Disclosure Is Now Mandatory — and "Verbal" Doesn't Count

This update came from the July 2025 policy change, but it's now fully enforced and still catching creators off-guard.

TikTok now requires mandatory commercial disclosure for every piece of content that involves a material connection to a brand, product, or service. And the definition of "material connection" is broader than most creators realise. Receiving a $5 product sample and making a video about it qualifies. Being invited to a press event qualifies. Any form of value exchange — financial or otherwise — triggers the disclosure requirement.

Here's the part that trips people up most: verbal disclosure alone is not sufficient. Saying "this is sponsored" at the start of your video doesn't satisfy TikTok's requirement. You must use TikTok's built-in branded content disclosure toggle before publishing. The platform actively scans videos for brand mentions and promotional language. If commercial intent is detected without the toggle enabled, you have a limited window to fix it before facing consequences — which typically means reach suppression in the For You feed rather than immediate removal, but repeat violations can escalate.

Old content posted before this policy was in effect is also at risk. The policy does not include a formal grandfather clause. Creators with large back-catalogues of brand deals, gifted content, or affiliate-adjacent videos should audit their posts and, where possible, add disclosures retroactively.

This requirement also now aligns directly with FTC guidelines, meaning non-compliance isn't just a TikTok account issue — it's a potential regulatory exposure issue for creators operating commercially.

4. GPS-Level Location Tracking Is Now Officially on the Table

The January 2026 ToS introduced more explicit language around location data collection. Previously, TikTok's policy referenced approximate location — typically city-level accuracy derived from your IP address. The new terms explicitly permit collection of precise GPS-level location data, dependent on your device settings and permission grants.

TikTok has not yet triggered location permission requests for US users. But the policy now legally permits it. And given that TikTok's ad infrastructure has expanded off-platform, precise location data becomes a significantly more valuable data point for advertisers.

For creators who are also building businesses — especially those with physical locations, local audiences, or any concern about competitive intelligence — understanding that this door is now open matters.

To check your current settings: go to your phone's privacy settings and review which permissions TikTok has been granted. Location access set to "Never" will prevent GPS tracking regardless of what the ToS permits. The app cannot override a device-level permission denial.

It's also worth noting that this language has been in TikTok's policies in other regions — including the EU and UK — for some time. The US was behind. The 2026 update brings US policy in line with global standards, which is important context for creators operating internationally.

5. TikTok Has Shifted Liability — and That Affects You

This is the change with the longest tail, and the one least covered in creator-focused media.

The new ToS includes explicit language stating that TikTok does not endorse any content on the platform. Combined with new provisions around generative AI, this signals a deliberate move by the platform to distance itself from legal liability for what creators post and what the algorithm amplifies.

What this means for creators: the responsibility for accuracy, compliance, and brand safety is shifting more firmly onto you. If you post AI-generated content that turns out to be inaccurate or misleading, TikTok's position is that it didn't endorse it. If you post branded content that violates FTC guidelines, the same logic applies. The platform is building legal distance between itself and the content that runs on it.

For creators using AI tools to generate voiceovers, faces, scenes, or scripts — TikTok's new rules require mandatory labeling for any AI content involving realistic depictions of people or scenarios. Unlabeled AI content that could mislead viewers is subject to removal. According to platform data, properly labeled AI content in relevant niches actually performs well — but content flagged after posting faces a significant reach penalty.

The practical implication: treat TikTok like a published media channel, not an informal video diary. The compliance bar has risen, and the platform's legal posture makes clear that creators bear the consequences of non-compliance, not TikTok.

What's Actually Overblown vs. What's Real

Given the volume of panic, it's worth being direct about where the fear outpaced the facts.

The sensitive data categories that alarmed so many users — immigration status, health information, sexual orientation, gender identity — were already in TikTok's privacy policy as of July 2024. The 2026 update made the language more explicit to comply with state-level privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act. This is a transparency update, not a new data grab. The same categories appear in Meta's privacy policy and have for years.

The algorithm instability and reach drops that tens of thousands of creators reported in late January 2026 were attributed by TikTok to a data centre power failure during the ownership transition. Whether that explanation is complete is a separate question — but the reach drops appear to be a technical transition issue rather than deliberate suppression, at least at scale.

What is real, and worth taking seriously: the off-platform ad targeting expansion, the pre-upload scanning clause, the mandatory disclosure toggle, and the liability shift. Those are genuine changes with practical implications for anyone building income on the platform.

The Practical Takeaway for Creators in 2026

TikTok is not going away. Under American ownership, with Oracle's infrastructure and a retrained algorithm, the platform is entering a more stable — and more regulated — era. That stability is actually good for creators who want to build long-term on the platform.

But "stable" now means "compliant." The days of posting brand deals without disclosure, using AI tools without labels, and treating TikTok as a lawless creative space are over.

Here's the checklist every creator should run right now:

• Audit old branded posts — add disclosure labels where possible, remove high-risk content if retroactive disclosure isn't viable
• Enable the branded content toggle for every commercial post going forward — verbal disclosure is not sufficient
• Label all realistic AI-generated content using TikTok's built-in labeling tools before posting
• Check your device location permissions — set TikTok to "Never" if you don't want GPS-level tracking
• Don't upload sensitive or proprietary draft content to TikTok — assume anything in the app's ecosystem may be scanned
• Diversify your audience — email lists, multi-platform presence, and direct community channels mean algorithm retraining doesn't wipe out your reach overnight

The creators who treat compliance as infrastructure — not as a burden — are the ones who will build sustainably on TikTok regardless of what the next ownership structure looks like.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does TikTok own my content after the January 2026 update?

No. You retain ownership of your content under TikTok's Terms of Service. However, by posting on the platform you grant TikTok a broad, royalty-free, irrevocable license to use your content to operate the platform, train algorithms, and in certain advertising contexts. Ownership and usage rights are two separate things — and TikTok holds significant usage rights regardless of who technically "owns" the content.

What happens if I don't disclose sponsored content on TikTok?

TikTok's systems actively scan for undisclosed commercial content. If promotional intent is detected without the branded content disclosure toggle enabled, your video's reach in the For You feed is typically suppressed first. Repeat violations can lead to account penalties. Beyond TikTok's enforcement, non-disclosure of material connections also creates FTC compliance exposure for creators operating commercially in the US.

Is it true TikTok scans content before I publish it?

Yes. The updated Terms of Service confirm that TikTok may scan content — including drafts and content still in the pre-upload editing stage — to power features like audio recommendations and hashtag suggestions. This scanning extends to AI-altered or filter-anonymised content. For most creators this is invisible, but creators handling sensitive business or brand material should be aware that TikTok's draft folder is not a private workspace.

How do I opt out of TikTok's location tracking?

The 2026 ToS permits GPS-level location collection with user permission, but TikTok cannot override device-level settings. To prevent location tracking, go to your phone's privacy or app permission settings and set TikTok's location access to "Never." You can also review and limit ad personalisation within TikTok's settings under Privacy > Ads.

What AI content needs to be labeled on TikTok?

Any AI-generated content that includes realistic depictions of people, voices, scenes, or events requires a label using TikTok's built-in AI content disclosure tools. This covers voice cloning, synthetic avatars, deepfake-style edits, and photorealistic AI-generated scenes. AI assistance that is invisible to viewers — such as AI-generated captions or background music — does not require labeling. TikTok's native effects that add AI labels automatically are exempt from manual disclosure requirements.