Oracle’s TikTok takeover: Users stay put despite censorship fears

TikTok’s newly formed U.S. joint venture appears to have weathered its initial storm, with fresh data suggesting that rumours of a mass user exodus were greatly exaggerated.

Following the January 2026 divestiture from ByteDance—mandated by President Trump—the platform faced a backlash over censorship fears and its new owners, including Oracle and Silver Lake.

Despite a brief spike in app deletions, Sensor Tower figures show that daily active users in the U.S. remain at roughly 95% of previous levels.

Concerns intensified on 25 January when users reported the suppression of certain political topics and search terms.

However, experts suggest these technical glitches were likely due to power outages rather than systemic interference.

"It is plausible that the short-lived rise in observed uninstalls was due to an attempt to troubleshoot the app," explained Abraham Yousef of Sensor Tower, noting that many users simply reinstalled the app the same day.

While alternative platforms like UpScrolled saw a temporary surge in interest, they struggled to maintain momentum.

For most, the user experience remains unchanged. Kelsey Chickering of Forrester noted: "Anecdotally, most users say the app feels largely the same - the algorithm hasn't meaningfully changed, and the experience is still strong."

Although new terms regarding location data and AI interactions warrant scrutiny, the predicted collapse has failed to materialise.

As Chickering concluded: "we've seen time and time again, if the product works, users tend to stick around regardless of who owns it." For now, TikTok remains the dominant force in American social media.