A TikTok US power outage caused a 'cascading systems failure' leading to multiple bugs
If your TikTok feed has felt a little off lately, it's not just you. TikTok says is still working to fix its service in the US following a power outage at one of its data centers that's caused “multiple bugs” in the app. TikTok users have reported problems logging in and uploading videos, as well as strange behavior from the "for you" algorithm. Creators have also noticed that new uploads are seemingly getting o views or likes and that in-app earnings have disappeared. "Since yesterday we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate," the company wrote in a statement Monday. "We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon."Since yesterday we’ve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate. We're working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. We're sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon.— TikTok USDS Joint Venture (@tiktokusdsjv) January 26, 2026In a subsequent update several hours later, the company said that the power outage had caused a “cascading systems failure” that is still affecting the app and leading to “multiple bugs,” including those affecting view counts and load times. “Creators may temporarily see ‘0’ views or likes on videos, and your earnings may look like they're missing,” the company wrote in an update on X. “This is a display error caused by server timeouts; your actual data and engagement are safe.”An update on our work to restore and stabilize TikTok. pic.twitter.com/PZzsuFeZmj— TikTok USDS Joint Venture (@tiktokusdsjv) January 26, 2026
The statement didn’t directly address reported issues with the app’s recommendation algorithm. Since Sunday, users have reported seeing a wave of generic videos flood their feeds, which are typically hyper-personalized. Other users have reported seeing the same few videos repeated over and over again. The issues come just days after TikTok finalized a deal to spin off its US business into a separate entity largely controlled by US investors. That timing hasn't gone unnoticed by users, many of whom are already suspicious of the company pushing a terms of service and privacy policy in the hours after the deal was finalized. The problems affecting the app's recommendation algorithm have also raised questions about TikTok USDS Joint Venture's plans to "retrain" TikTok's central feature. Update, January 26, 2026, 4:18PM PT: This post has been updated to include additional information from TikTok about the outage and bugs affecting users.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/a-tiktok-us-power-outage-caused-a-cascading-systems-failure-leading-to-multiple-bugs-173426490.html?src=rss
