Why TikTok Is Moving All U.S. User Data to Oracle Cloud

TikTok announced that it will route 100% of U.S. user traffic to Oracle Cloud infrastructure, making Oracle the default storage location for American users.

The platform has long faced U.S. national‑security scrutiny, with fears that the Chinese government could access American user data. In 2020, former President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing‑based parent, to sell the app, a directive the Biden administration has not enforced.

Following accusations that ByteDance could access U.S. user data, TikTok’s U.S. subsidiary said it has moved the default storage of user‑generated content to Oracle’s U.S. cloud.

In a blog post dated June 18, TikTok stated, “Today, 100% of U.S. user traffic is being routed to Oracle Cloud infrastructure.”

For more than a year the company has collaborated with Oracle, using both its U.S. and Singapore data centers for backup. TikTok plans to delete private U.S. user data from its own centers and fully transition to Oracle’s U.S. servers.

No specific timeline for completing the migration was provided. TikTok will continue operating its U.S. and Singapore data centers as a disaster‑recovery backup.

Consequently, Oracle Cloud is set to become the backbone of TikTok’s U.S. operations.

This development benefits Oracle, while Alibaba Cloud experiences mixed results after losing a “top‑tier cloud customer” in 2021.

Former President Trump threatened to ban TikTok unless it became U.S.‑owned, and Oracle has expressed interest in acquiring TikTok’s U.S. business.

The effort is viewed as a factor that pushed Alibaba Cloud out of the “top‑tier” client list; Alibaba’s ten largest cloud customers accounted for less than 8% of its cloud revenue, roughly $736 million in FY 2020‑21.

Oracle could therefore add tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

The official blog post was authored by U.S. security policy expert Albert Calamug, who noted that TikTok still has work to do on privacy and security.

He said, “From a security standpoint, we are one of the most scrutinized platforms, and our goal is to eliminate any doubt about the safety of U.S. user data.”

Despite these steps, concerns persist about who can access U.S. data regardless of its location. BuzzFeed News cited an internal TikTok meeting audio recording indicating that Chinese employees from ByteDance accessed non‑public U.S. user data between September 2021 and January 2022, possibly over a longer period.

TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan responded that the company “continues to work on validating our security standards and bringing in reputable independent third parties to test our defenses.”