The company said on Wednesday that the app is designed to bring fans into a single space where they can follow live conversations, watch trending clips and access curated creator content tied to major events. It is available to users aged 18 and above.

Inside the app, users can take part in simple fan activities like searching event hashtags, visiting the World Cup hub and sharing related posts. TikTok said users will earn “Stars” for these actions.

The Stars can be exchanged for rewards such as official FIFA World Cup merchandise through an in-app store, TikTok Shop vouchers, or donations made through TikTok-funded charity programmes.

TikTok has partnered with Feeding America for the donation feature. Monica Lopez Gonzalez, chief marketing and communications officer at Feeding America, said: “We can end hunger when we come together, and our partnership with TikTok gives sports fans a simple and meaningful way to be part of that effort.”

She added: “By engaging with tournament content on TikTok Pro Events, the fan community can help direct earned Stars toward donations that support neighbours facing hunger.”

The company further noted that the World Cup experience will also connect to content inside its main app. Users can search “FIFA World Cup” to access dedicated hubs, which bring together clips, creators and broadcaster highlights from the tournament.

TikTok said these hubs are powered by a toolset it calls GamePlan, which supports discovery and audience engagement for sports organisations and media partners.

The TikTok Pro Events app is currently being rolled out in the US as a pilot project and will serve as a testing ground for future cultural and sporting events. Users can download it from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

The new app, internally named “M2”, is expected to hit U.S. app stores on 5 September 2025,  just days before the extended deadline for its parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations.

This version, unlike the global one, is being built to run on an entirely separate infrastructure by engineers in the U.S. and Singapore, aimed squarely at addressing American data privacy and national security concerns. 

According to sources familiar with the matter, users will be allowed to continue using the current TikTok app until March 2026, but will eventually be forced to migrate.

This drastic restructuring results from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law in April, which mandates ByteDance’s full divestment from TikTok’s U.S. operations or risk being barred in the country.

President Donald Trump, whose administration pushed through the law, said recently: “We pretty much have a deal.”

He noted that the prospective buyers are a group of “very wealthy people”, though no names have been officially confirmed. Reports suggest Oracle and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are part of the investor consortium.

Despite the positivity from Washington, the obstacle lies thousands of miles away in Beijing. Chinese authorities have made it clear that they oppose what they view as a forced sale.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce previously stated that any technology export must go through its approval process, pointing that the final decision might rest on geopolitical rather than commercial terms.

This makes the entire operation fragile. With Trump’s trade issues against China escalating, including 145% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and tech components earlier this year, analysts suggest Beijing could use TikTok as a bargaining chip. In other words, the U.S. might have a buyer and a timeline, but China still holds the key.

For TikTok, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The platform commands more than 170 million users in the U.S. and serves over 7.5 million American businesses.

A sudden disruption, whether by government order or technical transition, could upend content creators’ incomes, freeze digital ad spending, and fragment a platform deeply embedded in U.S. popular culture.

There’s also the question of whether users will willingly adopt a new version of the app. Forced migration in digital products often faces resistance, and TikTok’s power lies in its network effects.

Fragmenting that network, even temporarily, could open doors for competitors or cause users to disengage altogether.

ByteDance has not issued a public statement regarding “M2” or the ongoing sale process. The Information, which first reported the app development, says internal testing is already underway.