What is Project Texas?
Project Texas is an unprecedented initiative dedicated to making every American on TikTok feel safe, with confidence that their data is secure and the platform is free from outside influence.…
FAQ
FAQ
What is USDS and how is it governed?
As part of Project Texas, we created a standalone entity called TikTok U.S. Data Security Inc. (USDS). USDS is an separate company tasked with managing all business functions that require…
When will Project Texas be fully operational?
Today, many of the major components of Project Texas are already operational: USDS has been incorporated, and as of March 23, 2023, over 1,400 people have been moved into this…
Who will work for TikTok USDS?
USDS currently has more than 1,400 full-time employees, and we expect that number to continue to grow. It includes all functions required to run any aspect of the U.S. version…
Where does TikTok store U.S. user data?
As of June 2022, 100% of all U.S. user traffic is routed to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure in the United States, and today all access to that environment is managed…
Who has access to U.S. user data?
Today, only vetted employees of TikTok USDS have access to new U.S. user data, with limited exceptions for things like business metrics or data needed to respond to an emergency…
The media has reported that TikTok collects sensitive information such as precise GPS location – is that true?
There have been many inaccurate claims about our policies and practices that have gone unaddressed by the media. To be clear, TikTok does NOT: Log keystrokes; Collect precise GPS location…
What kind of data does TikTok collect?
In line with industry practices, we collect information that people provide to help the app function, operate securely, and improve the user experience. More details can be found in our…
Can a person request that their data be deleted from TikTok?
Yes. Anyone can request access to or deletion of their information through the Contact section at the bottom of our privacy policy.
Who owns TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance?
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs. ByteDance is a privately-held global company, with roughly 60 percent owned by global institutional investors (such as Blackrock, General Atlantic, and…
Has TikTok or ByteDance ever shared US user data with the Chinese government?
TikTok has not been asked, nor has it provided any U.S. user data to the Chinese government.
Does the Chinese government own a small percentage of ByteDance?
No. As is required under local law, in order to operate certain ByteDance news and information products that are offered exclusively in China, three entities affiliated with the Chinese government…
Isn’t ByteDance/TikTok required to provide information to the Chinese government, if asked?
Project Texas is designed to make this question moot. Once TikTok USDS is fully operational, ByteDance and TikTok will not have access to U.S. user data, and our governance structure…
How can you be sure that ByteDance or the Chinese government truly has no means to access U.S. user data or manipulate content on the platform?
To guarantee that there is no unauthorized access to our systems—no backdoors or data leakage—every single line of source code that goes into the Oracle environment, whether it comes from…