Delete your #TikTok accounts and uninstall IMMEDIATELY

@Durrell Alt text, image 1: Durrell 1/22/26 Bluesky
#TikTok updated its Privacy Policy (Jan 22,
2026).
(Credit legalmiga on threads)
TikTok collects everything you upload, including drafts you never post
DMs + messages are collected and reviewed
Al prompts & Al responses you enter are stored and used to improve their systems

Image 2: Durrell 1/22/26 Bluesky
They access clipboard content when you copy/ paste into the app
Contacts can be pulled from your phone if syncing is on
Faceprints & voiceprints can be extracted from your videos
Location data (approximate by default, precise if enabled)
Keystroke patterns + device behavior are tracked

Image 3: Durrell 1/22/26 Bluesky
Activity can be linked across multiple devices
TikTok shares your data with advertisers + analytics partners
Your activity can affect ads outside TikTok
Opt-outs exist but you have to manually manage them
Public videos can appear on Google, news sites, and aggregators

Image 4: Donald J. Trump
@reaDonald Trump
+
I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok! It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice. Along with other factors, it was responsible for my doing so well with the Youth Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election. I only hope that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok. Thank you to Vice President JD Vance, and all of the others within my Administration, who helped bring this Deal to a very dramatic, final, and beautiful conclusion. I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal.
He could have gone the other way, but didn't, and is appreciated for his decision. PRESIDENT DONALD J.
TRUMP
1.33k ReTruths 5.31k Likes

@Durrell 🧐 Can't read the writing...oh well it must not be important.

@Durrell

Never had Tik Tok.

This reads like the standard TOS that every other social medium like instagram, facebook, youtube, etc has. But at least those are not American - oh wait.

@dagb

Why is it any different to Xitter, Insta, Faecebook, ....?

@Durrell

@Durrell So, if you are daft enough to have a tiktok account, now your data goes to Trumpistan and China! Result!

@Durrell note that this is the US TOS that was updated.

The EU/UK/CH TOS haven't changed since August 22, 2025, and TOS for regions outside the US, EU/UK/CH, that TOS has been updated December 1, 2025.

But also, some of this is just legal boilerplate that has been used on other platforms, INCLUDING Mastodon's TOS, such as:

"By creating, inputting, publishing, and otherwise providing Your Content on or to the Platform, you grant TikTok USDS Joint Venture a license to use Your Content that is:
- non-exclusive, irrevocable, and royalty-free (you retain the rights to use Your Content elsewhere, although we don't owe you any payments for sharing Your Content with us)
- assignable and sub-licensable, including through multiple tiers (so we can, for example, work with service providers and business partners to help distribute Your Content); and
- worldwide (so we can show your content to a global audience)."

@Durrell @aral Instagram/Threads/Meta does exactly the same for years...

@ReggieHere Because you don't actually follow anyone, TikTok just selects what you see. Such algorithms is now predominant on X and Meta so the differences are diminishing. TikTok has just perfected this from the start,

@Durrell

@Durrell there's nothing in the US TOS regarding clipboard use, voice or face data extraction from images, extracting contacts from your phone, location data or keystroke patterns.

legalmiga on threads (https://threads.net/@legalmiga/post/DT11_ZmFHYZ) hasn't provided any links or sources to these claims. Sure, it can be inferred that TikTok does that just like every other big tech social media app (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), but that's not new, and they mention this at the end of her thread. But at least she's a real attorney, which is nice to see.

@dagb

Thanks, I knew other platforms worked in pretty much the same way, but I wasn't aware the TT had that as a primary design feature.

@Durrell

@zleap @Durrell I hope Loops gets out of Beta and scales well enough to give users a viable place to migrate to. TikTok is really helped by the ecosystem of things like CapCut so creators will need help moving

@Durrell Tiktok sucks. It does not work right in Firefox.

@Offbeatmammal @Durrell

Me too, Social media HAS to change, but perhaps in such a way when young people are ready to sign up there is a good-informed set of choices.

I just wonder what about other social apps, like reddit, Instagram... Etc

@Durrell ...do real people use tiktok still? asking for a friend.

@tehdeminz.bsky.social You're not wrong. Every social media platform is deeply invasive. My problem is with the new owners And How deeply intertwined they are with the administration and the very specific TOS they launched last night

But you got to do what's best for you

A workaround to delete your #TikTok account without accepting the new TOS.

1. Turn off your phones wifi/data

2. Open app and click settings

3. Go to account page

4. Turn wifi back on

5. Delete account

The TOS popup won't appear when the internet is off. Being on the account tab prevents it.

@Durrell I have never used TikTok!