TikTok has recovered most of its U.S. daily active users after a brief decline following a change in ownership to a group of American investors. The shift prompted some users to explore alternatives, leading to temporary gains for rival video-sharing apps UpScrolled and Skylight Social.
According to estimates from digital market intelligence firm Similarweb, TikTok’s U.S. daily active users dropped to 86-88 million immediately after the ownership change. This compared to a typical average of 92 million. The app soon rebounded to more than 90 million daily active users.
During TikTok’s dip, UpScrolled reached a peak of 138,500 daily active users on January 28 before falling to 68,000. Skylight Social hit 81,200 daily active users at its highest, then declined to 56,300. Skylight Social also reported 380,000 user sign-ups by late January, according to statements to TechCrunch.
The usage decline stemmed from user concerns over TikTok’s updated privacy policy, introduced alongside the ownership change. The policy granted permission to track users’ precise GPS location, possibly linked to tests of a “Nearby” feed featuring videos from local creators. Users reacted with backlash over these privacy additions.
Further scrutiny revealed language in the policy stating TikTok may collect users’ “immigration status” among other personal data. This disclosure complied with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which mandates businesses to inform consumers about collection of sensitive data. TikTok includes such information if users share it in video content on the platform.
Compounding the issues, TikTok faced a multi-day data center outage that disrupted core functions. The outage affected search, likes, comments, video playback, the recommendation algorithm, and in-app chat. Users interpreted these glitches as censorship, driving them to seek alternatives like UpScrolled and Skylight Social.
TikTok announced on Sunday evening that it had resolved the outage. The company attributed the problem to a power outage caused by a winter storm.
As users accepted the updated terms and conditions and technical issues cleared, daily active users returned to TikTok, per Similarweb data. The firm noted that while the app regained ground, overall U.S. usage has declined gradually in the latter part of 2025. TikTok peaked at 100 million daily active users from July to October 2025, compared to the current levels above 90 million.
The ownership transition involved American investors taking control of TikTok’s U.S. operations. Similarweb’s estimates highlight how the brief user exodus provided a window for smaller competitors to attract new audiences, even if those gains proved short-lived.
