TikTok might be working on a standalone U.S. app, but marketers aren’t sold on the idea – yet

TikTok is reportedly developing a separate version of its app for the U.S. — a contingency plan as pressure builds for ByteDance to divest. But for marketers, it raises more questions than answers.

“I’d be curious to learn more about how the user data and ad stack and process will evolve, which certainly has the potential to be the bigger disruption (as compared to usage numbers),” said Chris Mele, managing partner at marketing agency Siberia. 

To recap: the platform’s staff are currently beavering away on a new version of TikTok currently codenamed “M2”, apparently due to hit app stores Sept. 5. According to The Information, the company expects to discontinue the current app in the U.S. in March 2026, and hand it over to M2 from that point. TikTok didn’t respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

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