TikTok stopped in its tracks today. Feeds froze. Comments vanished. Uploads sat at zero. We confirmed a sweeping outage across the United States on Sunday, January 25, 2026. Our tests saw login errors, broken For You Pages, and videos stalled in review. Creators told us their scheduled posts were dead on arrival. Fans were stuck staring at spinning wheels.
What we are seeing right now
This is not a small hiccup. It is a full scene change. On iOS and Android, the app failed to load for many users. Those who got in watched their FYP loop old clips or show random content. Comment sections appeared empty. Like counts stuttered, then froze. Some uploads recorded zero views for hours, even from big accounts.
Login also cracked under pressure. SMS codes did not arrive for some users. Others were kicked out after repeated attempts. A handful of creators said they reached their accounts after routing through non U.S. regions with a VPN. Many could not repeat that fix. We saw video duration bars vanish on certain posts. A few ads appeared without proper labels, blending into the feed like normal clips. That is not standard behavior.
We tracked tens of thousands of outage reports at the peak, spread across major U.S. cities. The pattern points to a platform wide disruption. Not a single carrier or device issue.
Zero views today does not mean you are shadowbanned. It is platform instability. Do not start deleting posts.
Why now, and what it tells us
Timing matters. TikTok completed its U.S. spin off on January 22, just three days ago. The new entity is called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC. It is majority owned by American investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX. ByteDance now holds a 19.9 percent minority stake.
A change this big is not just paperwork. It touches servers, logins, data storage, and policy checks. TikTok has been moving U.S. systems onto Oracle cloud. It is also layering new security reviews and compliance rules. Fresh terms and moderation guidance tend to ride along. When that many switches flip at once, even a small misstep can ripple. Today, it rippled across the entire app.
This outage is a stress test for a new chapter. It shows how fragile a global platform can be during a handoff. It also hints at early tuning on the recommendation engine. Several feeds we monitored served stale or off topic videos. That suggests algorithm oversight tools are being adjusted in real time.
Expect intermittent glitches as the new U.S. stack settles. Reliability will improve, but rollouts rarely land clean on day one.
Celebrity fallout and fan shock
Pop culture runs on timing. TikTok is the clock. Today the second hand stopped. Creators postponed teaser drops. Several told us they canceled countdown livestreams because the go live button failed. A few brand partners hit pause on day of campaigns. Music snippets that were queued for Sunday pushes never left the drafts folder. That can hurt first week numbers and crush momentum.
Fans felt the whiplash. Stan accounts waited for comeback crumbs that never arrived. Comedy creators who rely on quick comments lost their feedback loop. Beauty and fashion looks missed the window for late afternoon scrolls. In a season filled with awards chatter and surprise snippets, silence is loud.
Still, there was humor. We saw creators posting behind the scenes bloopers elsewhere, using the downtime to talk to their communities. Nobody loves an outage. But internet culture knows how to turn a mess into a bit.
What creators should do next
Do not panic. Do not carpet post. Protect your drafts and protect your schedule.
- Hold new uploads until views and comments stabilize.
- Keep receipts, with screen recordings of errors and timestamps for partners.
- Do not delete zero view posts today, repost later when service returns.
- Check SMS and backup codes, verify your recovery email now.
- Watch for updated policy notices inside the app this week.
When service returns, stagger posts. Give the system time to catch up, and avoid dropping a full slate at once.
The bigger picture
This is the first real shock under the new U.S. structure. It arrives after years of pressure to move data and control into American hands. The goal is trust, transparency, and stability. The path there is messy. Expect fresh terms on political ads, clearer labels on sponsored posts, and new audits on recommendation choices. Expect the FYP to feel a little different for a bit.
Creators should watch the mix on their feeds. Track how long videos perform compared to short ones. Listen for audio licensing tweaks. Keep an eye on moderation notes and appeals timing. These are the quiet signals of an algorithm finding its new balance.
Today, the app paused. Tomorrow, it will move again. When it does, the winners will be the voices that kept their audience warm during the blackout, and the teams that planned for turbulence. Entertainment does not stop. It adapts, it reloads, it posts. 📱
