TikTok’s New U.S. Deal and Privacy Policy: What Users Don’t Understand

TikTok has shifted to a majority-American entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture, LLC, to comply with U.S. national security requirements and avoid a ban. This week we discuss why a recent privacy policy update went viral—especially language about sensitive data like immigration status and precise location—and argue much of it reflects longstanding practices and required California privacy disclosures. We emphasize reading policies, understanding your threat model, and making your own decision about using TikTok or other social platforms. The episode also briefly mentions Ring ending its partnership with Flock and a rumored internal email about expanding Ring’s “search party” feature.

** Links mentioned on the show **

TikTok users freak out over app’s ‘immigration status’ collection — here’s what it means
https://tech.yahoo.com/social-media/articles/tiktok-users-freak-over-app-043402475.html

Here’s what you should know about the US TikTok deal
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/23/heres-whats-you-should-know-about-the-us-tiktok-deal/

TikTok’s Privacy Policy
https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/us/privacy-policy/en

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