Who owns TikTok?
TikTok is owned by ByteDance (China).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: ByteDance — about, ByteDance Ltd. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- ByteDance Ltd. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇨🇳 China, Beijing
- Origin
- 🇨🇳 China
- Founded
- 2016
- Category
- Internet & digital › Search & social › Video platforms
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About TikTok
TikTok grew out of ByteDance's purchase of the lip-syncing app Musical.ly in 2017, and its algorithmic feed reshaped what social media looks like. Its Chinese ownership has driven legislation in the United States requiring divestment, and outright bans in India and on government devices in many countries.
Ownership timeline of TikTok
Where TikTok sits in ByteDance
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full ByteDance ownership tree →
See the full ByteDance brand portfolio (3) →
Other brands owned by ByteDance
ByteDance controls 3 brands on Brandtree, 3 of them in internet & digital.
Also in internet & digital
Other brands in video platforms, and who owns them
The 18 brands in video platforms on Brandtree belong to 13 owners. The largest is Kuaishou, with 2; ByteDance has 2.
About the owner: ByteDance
ByteDance is a privately held company headquartered in Beijing, China, founded in 2012. Brandtree records 3 brands under its control.
ByteDance was founded in Beijing in 2012 and is among the most valuable private companies in the world. Its recommendation system, which ranks content by predicted engagement rather than by who a user follows, was copied by every major competitor within a few years of TikTok's rise.
🇨🇳 TikTok and other Chinese brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 327 brands that began in China. 39 of them (12%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; TikTok is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of TikTok?
The parent company of TikTok is ByteDance, a privately held company headquartered in China.
Is TikTok Chinese?
Yes. TikTok originated in China in 2016 and its owner, ByteDance, is also headquartered in China.
Is TikTok still owned by ByteDance?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, TikTok is still owned by ByteDance. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] ByteDance — about — ByteDance Ltd., Official document; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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