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TikTok on Wednesday announced the launch of a new “Local Feed” in the US version of the app, which displays content related to travel, news, events, shopping and dining near a user’s current location. The arrival of the brief comes shortly after TikTok’s terms of service were changed under the new US joint venture, which it said the app would launch in Collect accurate location information From TikTok users.
Today, TikTok confirms that the reason it now requires more accurate location information is to help power the local feed. However, it does indicate that users will be able to control whether or not precise location sharing is turned on, and the default will be set to “off,” making this an opt-in experience.
The local feed was launched in December in selected European markets, Included United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany.
The company explains in advertisement The feed is meant to help users stay connected to their local community, and its posts are shown to people based on their location, the topic of the content, and when the content was posted. This makes it your most up-to-date feed of local information — like suggestions for new restaurants to try, local events, shopping suggestions, and more.
The new feature is also linked to TikTok’s push to attract small businesses to its app, not just as content producers but as advertisers. This can help insulate it against further regulation and help it claim, as Meta does, that it should not be controlled because many small businesses rely on its services to reach their customers.
TikTok indicates that 7.5 million companies currently use the application to reach global customers, and these companies support more than 28 million workers, per Oxford Economics Report 2025. The company also highlighted numbers from Small Business and Entrepreneurship Councilwhich found that 84% of TikTok small business users said the platform helped grow their business, and 75% said TikTok helped them reach customers outside their local area. Additionally, another 74% said TikTok helps them connect with their local community.
As TikTok sees it, the local feed will help generate real traffic and sales for these brick-and-mortar stores across the US
The first time users access the local feed, they will be asked to allow the app to use their location data. On iOS, for example, a pop-up prompt will allow users to choose whether they want to allow the activity at once, while using the app, or not allow it at all.
“This approach aligns with the number of modern apps using location today, and gives people the option to enable it when they want more relevant local experiences, while keeping them in control,” the company wrote in its announcement. However, TikTok likely would have seen a better reception for this feature had it rolled out the requirement for precise location data before transferring ownership in the US, or at least at the same time. This way, the app can at least indicate why it wants to collect this additional data.
However, even if location data now has a purpose, it’s worth considering whether the value of a local feed is worth the privacy risk.
TikTok also notes that the feature will only be available to those 18 or older, and will only collect information while using the app.