TikTok Updates 2026: Every Update That Matters for Brands, Agencies and Creators

2026 will be a defining year for TikTok, and not just because of new features. Following years of political uncertainty, a near-ban in the United States and a wave of major platform innovations in 2025, TikTok has entered 2026 in a genuinely new era. New US ownership, new analytics tools, new creative infrastructure, and a platform-wide push toward deeper discovery and intentional commerce. For brands and creators, the pace of change is relentless, and the opportunity is bigger than ever.

This article is your one-stop source for the TikTok updates that actually matter in 2026, kept fresh throughout the year to give you clarity, relevance and the strategic edge to stay ahead. You may also want to read our dedicated TikTok SEO guide for a deeper look at optimising your content for search. Here's what's new, what's changing, and why it matters.

February 2026

TikTok's Local Feed Lands in the US - and Goes Search-First

Two connected updates in February 2026 reinforce the same strategic direction: TikTok is making itself indispensable for discovery, both inside and outside the app.

Local Feed rolls out to the US

On February 11, 2026, TikTok launched its opt-in Local Feed in the United States, surfacing content related to nearby travel, news, events, shopping and dining based on the user's current location. The feature, already live in the UK, France, Italy and Germany since December 2025, is opt-in and set to 'off' by default, requiring users to grant precise location access. It's available to users aged 18 and older only.

In the UK alone, 46% of TikTok users have visited a local shop, restaurant or attraction after discovering it on the platform. The Local Feed is designed to accelerate exactly that behaviour, and for local businesses, hospitality brands and event-based marketers, the opportunity is significant. Organic local reach, without spending on ads.

TikTok goes search-first with Google

In parallel, TikTok is integrating more deeply with Google Search, with video titles and captions now showing up in standard web results. It mirrors what Instagram did in mid-2025, and it fundamentally changes how your content should be created. Your TikTok posts are no longer just competing for the FYP, they're competing for search real estate.

What this means for brands and creators:

• Write captions like they matter beyond the app… because now they do. Keyword-rich, specific and structured copy will outperform vague or emoji-heavy descriptions.
• Location-tag your content. If you're a local or regional brand, ensure every relevant post is geo-tagged so it surfaces in the Nearby/Local feed to the right audience.
• Revisit older content. Strong evergreen posts may be worth updating with improved titles and descriptions now they have organic search value.

The brands that treat TikTok as a search and discovery channel in 2026 will be the ones building sustainable, compounding visibility. 

January 2026

Q1 2026 Product Preview: What TikTok Just Shipped for Brands

In January 2026, TikTok released its first quarterly Product Preview of the year. A bundled set of updates designed to give brands and agencies more control, more automation and richer insights. Here's what actually matters:

Registered Business Accounts

Brands can now connect their TikTok profile to a verified business entity, unlocking organic features including link in bio, lead generation forms, geo-targeting and multi-user access, along with built-in safeguards like age-gating and geo-fencing. If you're running a brand account and haven't registered yet, this is the first thing to do.

TikTok Partner Exchange

Previously known as TikTok Creative Exchange, Partner Exchange has been renamed and moved into TikTok One, bringing partner discovery, briefing and production into a single workflow. The brief has been upgraded too, giving brands clearer control over requirements and creator preferences. For agencies managing creative partnerships at scale, this is a meaningful improvement.

Creative for Smart+

The Auto-select feature (currently available for Smart+ App campaigns) scans your existing ads and eligible creator content to recommend high-performing assets aligned with your brand goals. You retain control through eligibility rules, but the heavy lifting of identifying what works is increasingly handled for you.

TikTok Market Scope

The platform's full-funnel analytics tool has introduced side-by-side views of TikTok Shop and website funnels for commerce brands, and title-level funnel data for theatrical advertisers. The direction of travel is clear: TikTok wants brands to connect awareness to conversion in one place.

Disrupt are experts at building TikTok strategies that flex with platform shifts. Get in touch with our team to find out more.

The Biggest TikTok Story of 2026: US Ownership Resolved

On January 22, 2026, TikTok officially completed the establishment of a new US joint venture, 'TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC', bringing to a close a years-long saga over the platform's future in America. Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX each hold 15% stakes as managing investors, giving American investors approximately 80% ownership overall. ByteDance retains a minority 19.9% stake.

For US users, nothing changes day-to-day; accounts, followers and content remain intact. But under the terms of the deal, Oracle will retrain and oversee the US content recommendation algorithm on American user data, meaning the For You Page (FYP) may evolve over time.

What does this mean for brands?

The platform isn't going anywhere. If anything, this resolution ends the uncertainty that had made some advertisers hesitant. TikTok is projected to generate over $17 billion in US ad revenue in 2026, and with structural stability now in place, long-term investment in the platform is a far more confident call.

That said, algorithm changes are coming as Oracle takes the reins on retraining. Brands and creators should be monitoring performance closely, documenting baseline metrics and staying agile as the FYP learns to operate under new ownership.

New Creator Health Rating: Reward, Recognition and Reach

TikTok has replaced its old Violation Points model with the Creator Health Rating (CHR), which rolled out gradually between January 12–19, 2026. It's a more balanced, growth-oriented approach to account health, rewarding good behaviour as much as penalising violations.

All creators started fresh on 200 points from a 0–1,000 scale. Rather than only losing points for missteps, creators can now earn them back through compliant content, successful orders and passing policy quizzes. Think of it as TikTok formally recognising creators who are showing up and delivering, not just punishing those who aren't.

What it means in practice:

• For creators: check your CHR regularly in Creator Center > TikTok Shop for Creator. Maintain it proactively and treat a strong score as part of your pitch when approaching brand deals.
• For brands: factor creator health into your influencer selection process, especially for TikTok Shop campaigns, where violations can directly affect product visibility and commission eligibility. 

 TikTok Shop Goes All-In: Native Commerce Only

TikTok's push toward native commerce is accelerating, and 2026 has already brought several meaningful updates to the Shop ecosystem.

External storefronts, like Shopify tabs on profiles, are gone, replaced entirely by native TikTok Shop. All product displays now live within TikTok's integrated commerce system, and all transactions happen inside the app. For brands that have been sitting on the fence about Shop, this is the nudge: there's no meaningful alternative for in-platform commerce now.

Key Shop updates:

• Sample Request automation: creators can now automate product requests from brands based on engagement rate - a new system in TikTok Shop that reduces manual back-and-forth for high-volume influencer programmes.
• AI commerce tools: TikTok Shop has introduced AI Dubbing for product videos, an AI Fashion Video Maker, and List with AI, lowering the production barrier for shoppable content at scale.
• Content quality policy: from January 19, 2026, posting limits apply to creators who repeatedly publish low-quality or non-interactive Shop videos. Post five or more non-interactive Shop videos within seven days and a posting cap kicks in. Be on camera, interact and keep it real - passive slideshow-style commerce content is actively being disincentivised. 

 JANUARY 2026

New Policy Updates: What Brands and Creators Must Know

2026 has brought a set of important policy updates that affect how creators and brands operate on the platform. The key areas:

Branded content disclosure

TikTok now defines commercial content broadly. Any material connection between creator and brand, including product samples and event invitations, requires disclosure. The built-in Branded Content toggle must be used at the point of posting, not retroactively. Non-disclosure carries real risk, both on-platform and through regulatory scrutiny from the FTC and equivalent bodies globally - if you have concerns that your campaigns may be affected by this update, speak to Disrupt.

AI-generated content labelling

Any content using AI to create realistic depictions of people or scenes now requires clear in-app labelling. Misleading AI content is prohibited entirely. This is particularly relevant for brands experimenting with synthetic influencers or AI-generated ad creative. Label everything, every time.

LIVE eligibility requirements

Accounts must now have a minimum of 1,000 followers to host livestreams, with account holders being 16 or older. If your LIVE strategy relies on emerging creators, factor this into your casting and partnership process.

Off-platform promotion restrictions

Creators can no longer direct LIVE viewers to external websites, share contact details, or mention other social platforms in ways that violate community guidelines. If you're running LIVE activations with creators, brief them carefully before they go live.

December 2025

The Nearby Feed Launches in Europe

While this one technically landed in late 2025, it's directly shaping 2026 strategy, so it's essential context. In December 2025, TikTok officially launched its 'Nearby Feed' across the UK, France, Italy and Germany, surfacing public posts from creators in the user's local area based on location, topic and recency.

According to TikTok's own data, 46% of UK TikTok users have already visited a local shop, restaurant or attraction they discovered on the platform. The Nearby Feed is designed to make that behaviour even more likely, and more measurable for local businesses.

Content appears in the feed based on location tags, topic relevance and engagement patterns. Location sharing is opt-in and available only to users aged 18+. Content from private accounts or posts set to 'Friends only' will not appear.

What this means for brands and creators:

• Location-tag every relevant post. If you operate from a physical location, create a habit of tagging it consistently.
• Brief your creator partners. Local influencers near your venue or store can now reach genuinely nearby audiences without paid spend.
• Think hyperlocal content strategy. Events, behind-the-scenes, venue tours and neighbourhood moments will perform well in this feed.

What it All Means: 2026 Is TikTok's Maturity Moment

TikTok is no longer the scrappy challenger, hasn’t been for years. In 2026, it's a full-stack marketing platform; search engine, commerce platform, creator economy and short-form media giant, operating under new ownership and moving at pace.

The updates landing this year aren't just new features to play with. They're signals about where the platform is heading: towards deeper search integration, more native commerce, richer analytics and stronger governance. The brands that read these signals early and build accordingly will be the ones who look back on 2026 as the year they pulled ahead.

Ready to make the most of every TikTok update this year? Keep this article bookmarked as your always-up-to-date guide. And if you want to go deeper on organic discoverability, read our TikTok SEO guide or explore how Disrupt can take your TikTok strategy from good to industry-defining.

Ready to build a TikTok strategy that stays ahead of every update? Talk to the Disrupt team.