StickTock is 100% free and open source software (FOSS) developed by privacy advocates. StickTock allows users to view, share, and download TikTok videos without exposing themselves to invasive tracking. Anyone with a web browser can now watch TikToks while protecting their privacy: StickTock.com
"If you're an American (or anyone else, for that matter) who wants to use TikTok without being spied on, PrivacySafe has you covered: their StickTock tool is a private, alternative, web-based front-end for TikTok, with optional Tor VPN tunnelling. As PrivacySafe's Sean O'Brien explains, StickTock is an free/open utility that's dead easy to use. Just change the URL of any TikTok video from TikTok.com/whatever to StickTock.com/whatever, and you're have a private viewing experience that easily penetrates the Great Firewall of America. O'Brien – founder of the Yale Privacy Lab – writes that PrivacySafe built this because they wanted to help Americans continue to access the great volume of speech on TikTok, and because they knew that Americans would be using ad-supported, spyware-riddled VPNs to evade the Great Firewall." - Cory Doctorow, Author & Activist
"This project stands out because it directly challenges TikTok’s data practices while addressing broader concerns about government overreach in banning platforms. The privacy-focused approach appeals to those wary of TikTok’s potential misuse of user data, especially given its ties to ByteDance, a company based in China. The platform’s reliance on open-source transparency also gives users confidence in how their data is being handled—or rather, not handled at all." - Sam Bent, OSINT & OPSEC Specialist
- Link Conversion: Convert TikTok video URLs into StickTock videos just by replacing the word
tiktok.comwithsticktock.com - Tor Compatible: Tested with Tor Browser and works with Tor hidden services.
- Browse to https://sticktock.com to try this software for free.
- Tor Hidden Service: b7vypdv52igjfg7vwhlofny45koaa4ltletx67ranlwfotiiqwza2eyd.onion
As our logo hints, StickTock is a “band aid” solution. We can’t promise it will persist long after the TikTok ban, but we made it easy to deploy by sysadmins and fork by developers. As the US population scrambles to find access to TikTok videos, we hope StickTock will call attention to the vital importance of free speech and digital independence.
You need docker installed and set into swarm mode. All build tools are located in the images, so you don't really need any local tooling for infrequent changes. Read Dockerfile and package.json files for scripts that build, run, and run-in-dev mode given code.
The frontend next.js web app needs explicit information about its own domain and the domain of the API server.
These values must be set in frontend/service.config.ts.
Incorrect domains will give you unpleasant debugging.
The backend service can work with frontends from different domains.
The docker stack/compose file docker-swarm-stack.yml shows that backend-api needs a mounted volume for its internal data location /var/local/sticktock/. You can use bind, like it is used now, or some other volume. If mount fails docker stack deploy may not be verbose about errors, so be sure to check docker service ls.
Use reload-stack.sh --build-webapp --build-app. If one of the images doesn't need to be recreated anew, skip the respective flag.
The generic form of the stack file uses latest images, but run labels images with date and time to be able to rollback manually.
To stop stack, do the usual docker stack rm sticktock.
© 2025-present PrivacySafe Services LLC. This project is dedicated to ethical Free and Open Source Software and Open Source Hardware. PrivacySafe® is a registered trademark.
Released under the GNU AGPLv3 License. See LICENSE for more information. StickTock is modified from offtiktok and offtiktokapi released under the MIT/Expat License by MarsHeer.
THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.
IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MODIFIES AND/OR CONVEYS THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
