TikTok’s privacy update mentions immigration status. Here’s why.

TikTok’s US app forced users to accept new terms in a January 22, 2026 pop-up, and many panicked after seeing “citizenship or immigration status” listed as sensitive information TikTok might process. The article says that wording is not new, it first appeared around August 2024, and it does not mean TikTok is asking people to enter their immigration status. Instead, it is a disclosure meant to cover sensitive details users might share in videos, surveys, or AI interactions, driven in part by California’s AB-947, which added immigration status to the state’s sensitive data definition. A more substantive change is that TikTok now says it may collect precise location data depending on settings, where it previously said it did not collect GPS data from US users. The piece adds that broader trust concerns remain, including TikTok quietly removing a promise to notify users before sharing data with law enforcement and staying vague about whether it shares data with agencies like DHS or ICE.