Why did TikTok experience a dip in daily active users?

TikTok's user base saw a dip due to concerns over its updated privacy policy, which allowed for precise GPS location tracking, and a multi-day data center outage that caused app malfunctions.

Did rival apps like UpScrolled and Skylight Social benefit from TikTok's issues?

Yes, during TikTok's temporary decline, UpScrolled and Skylight Social experienced a surge in daily active users, with UpScrolled reaching over 138,500 and Skylight Social over 81,200.

Has TikTok's user base fully recovered?

TikTok's U.S. daily active user numbers have recovered to over 90 million, indicating that many users have returned to the platform after the issues were resolved.

Home / Technology / TikTok Recovers After User Dip; Rivals Surge Then Fade

TikTok Recovers After User Dip; Rivals Surge Then Fade

3 Feb

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Summary

TikTok usage dipped to 86-88 million daily active users after ownership change.
Rival apps UpScrolled and Skylight Social saw temporary user boosts.
Outage and privacy concerns briefly drove users to seek alternatives.

TikTok Recovers After User Dip; Rivals Surge Then Fade

TikTok has seen a significant recovery in its U.S. daily active user base, returning to over 90 million after a brief decline to 86-88 million. This fluctuation occurred shortly after a change in ownership and was compounded by a multi-day data center outage. During this period, alternative video apps like UpScrolled and Skylight Social experienced a surge in new users.

UpScrolled peaked at 138,500 daily active users, while Skylight Social reached 81,200. These gains were short-lived as TikTok resolved its technical issues and users grew accustomed to updated terms and conditions. Privacy concerns, particularly regarding data tracking and the collection of "immigration status" information (a reference related to CCPA), along with the outage, had prompted users to explore other platforms.

However, data indicates that many users have since returned to TikTok. While the platform has rebounded, Similarweb notes a broader trend of slowly declining usage since its peak of 100 million daily active users between July and October 2025. The recent events represent a temporary disruption rather than a sustained loss of user engagement for TikTok.