What is Douyin and how to get started

Douyin, also known as 抖音, is the Chinese version of TikTok owned by Bytedance and China's most downloaded video-sharing platform.

By the 21YunBox Compliance Team·Reviewed 2026-10-07·Verified against primary sources

What does a foreign company need to run an official Douyin channel or sell on Douyin in China?

Downloading Douyin is free; operating on it commercially is a verification, not a signup. Whether a foreign brand wants an official channel or a Douyin Shop, the real gate is enterprise verification tied to a Chinese business license — which for most commercial categories means a mainland China entity, or a verified local partner or agency of record that holds the license on your behalf.

Three gates stack on top of the app. First, identity: as an online audio-video service Douyin authenticates every account against a real identity, and a brand (企业号 / Blue V) account is certified against a business license, not a passport. Second, content: ByteDance — not you — holds the audio-visual program license and carries the duty to review what is published, so your posts live inside a licensed, content-reviewed service (see the online audio-video provisions). Third, selling: a Douyin Shop is a marketplace listing the platform is legally bound to vet, and an offshore seller enters through the cross-border (全球购) channel with a mainland joint-liability partner, or through a WFOE. Any China-hosted site you run alongside adds its own ICP filing, and the audience and order data you collect is personal information under PIPL. The guide below walks through accounts, advertising via Ocean Engine, and the shop — this is where each legal gate actually sits.

This is a risk map to confirm with counsel, not a verdict — which gate binds you turns on your entity, your content and whether you sell. Our China team can map your path with you →

What a foreign brand must clear to post or sell on Douyin

Fact	Primary source
An official Douyin presence runs on business verification, not just a username. A commercial or brand account on a Chinese marketplace is verified against a registered business, not a personal login. Under China's E-Commerce Law the platform operator must verify each on-platform operator's identity, business registration and any required permits or licenses (Articles 27–28), and nearly all e-commerce operators must themselves register as market entities and display that registration (Articles 9–10, 15). So a foreign brand does not self-onboard on an overseas identity; the verified account keys to a Chinese business registration, held through a mainland entity of its own or a China-registered party acting for it.	E-Commerce Law of the PRC, Arts. 9–10, 15, 27–28 (platform verification of on-platform operators; market-entity registration and display) — Harris Sliwoski, "China's E-Commerce Law and Its Foreign Company Impacts", retrieved 2026-10-08
Selling on Douyin means being — or going through — a China-registered party; there is no "just my overseas company" path. Because the platform must admit only verified, registered operators, a shop resolves to a China-registered business on either route. On the domestic route the seller is itself a Chinese market entity — commonly a foreign brand's own Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) or an existing China company. On the cross-border retail-import route an overseas company can be the seller, but the E-Commerce Law ties cross-border sellers to China's cross-border e-commerce import framework (Article 26), which places a China-registered domestic party in the chain to take responsibility for the goods. Either way the business registration and the liability rest on a China-registered party — your own entity or a partner that carries it.	E-Commerce Law of the PRC — platforms admit only verified, registered operators (Arts. 27–28); operators register as market entities (Art. 10); cross-border sellers tied to Art. 26 and China's cross-border e-commerce retail-import framework — Harris Sliwoski, "China's E-Commerce Law and Its Foreign Company Impacts", retrieved 2026-10-08
The platform is legally required to gate you behind verified business credentials. Under China's E-Commerce Law a platform operator must, in a named law firm's words, "verify the identity, business registration, tax registration and any other required permit or licenses" "of any on-platform operator" — the platform-verification duty the enacted law sets out (Articles 27–28), with merchants also required to display their business registration on the storefront (Article 15). The firm's blunt read for foreign sellers: "if you do not meet the requirements necessary to get on such a platform you almost certainly will not get on," which is why "a viable method for foreign brands to sell to China's consumers is to work with Chinese e-commerce platforms" through a compliant entity.	Harris Sliwoski — China's E-Commerce Law and Its Foreign Company Impacts; E-Commerce Law of the PRC, Arts. 15, 27–28, retrieved 2026-10-07
Your videos live inside a licensed service you cannot operate yourself. Under the Provisions on the Administration of Internet-Based Audio-Visual Program Services (SARFT–MIIT Order No. 56, 2007; these provisions carried into the 2015 revision), without obtaining the Permit "no work unit or individual may engage in Internet audiovisual programme service" (Art. 7), and the first condition to hold that Permit is to "be a wholly State-owned or State-controlled work unit" (Art. 8). The Provisions set a prohibited-content list (Art. 16) and require a provider to "immediately delete audiovisual programmes containing content violating these Provisions" (Art. 18). So ByteDance holds the license and the review duty; a foreign brand posts inside that reviewed service, not around it. Read the provisions →	Provisions on the Administration of Internet-Based Audio-Visual Program Services (SARFT–MIIT Order No. 56, 2007; revised 2015), Arts. 7, 8, 16, 18 — DigiChina (Stanford University) translation, retrieved 2026-10-08
The follower, comment and order data a Douyin presence generates is personal information under PIPL. Audience lists, buyer contact details and analytics you collect through the channel or the shop are personal information: routing them to systems outside the mainland is a cross-border transfer under PIPL (notice, separate consent and a transfer mechanism, Articles 38–43), and a critical-information-infrastructure operator or large-volume handler must keep the data in China (Cybersecurity Law Article 39 (formerly Article 37); PIPL Article 40). What you may move offshore, and under which mechanism, is a question to settle before you launch a shop — not after the orders arrive.	China Personal Information Protection Law (Arts. 38–43, 40); Cybersecurity Law Art. 39 (2025 revision, effective 2026-01-01) — DLA Piper analysis, retrieved 2026-10-07

Sources verified by the 21YunBox compliance team on 2026-10-07.

About Douyin

Douyin, also known as 抖音, is the Chinese version of TikTok owned by Bytedance and China’s most downloaded video-sharing platform.

Initially released in the Chinese market in 2016 by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, Douyin has quickly become one of the most popular mobile apps in China, with over 700 million monthly active users.

As the international version of Douyin, TikTok shares the same user interface as Douyin but has no access to each other’s content. Their features are similar but not identical, and Douyin only operates in China. Due to data privacy and national security concerns, the app has been banned in some countries, including India and the United States.

Despite this, Douyin continues to be a popular platform for users to create and share short videos. It will likely continue to grow in popularity in the future.

Most of its content are in Mandarin, and a significant portion of the users are Chinese Gen Z consumers. Therefore, Douyin is commonly used by businesses and brands to gain organic growth by creating content. Douyin marketing and advertising in China offer unlimited opportunities for international brands.

How To Get Started On Douyin

Douyin does not operate outside of China, so you can only download Douyin from the Google Play Store or App Store if you’re in Mainland China. If you are outside of China, you might wonder how to download and use it. This article will walk you through the easy downloading process to get the Douyin app on your Android or iOS device in minutes.

It’s pretty simple - you can download Douyin directly from its official website.

How to download Douyin and open a Chinese account on an Android device

Step 1: Go to douyin.com

Go to douyin.com on your Android device, and click the Download Now (立即下载) button to download the Douyin app APK (android package) to your phone.

Don’t worry about the warning — the Douyin app APK is safe to download since it’s from the official website.

Step 2: Approve the installation

Once the app APK download is complete, click ‘open’ to initiate the installation process. Remember, you can’t install APK files from Google without approval. So don’t forget to click ‘Settings’ and turn on the ‘Allow from this source’ switch. After approval, open your file manager and click on the downloaded Douyin app APK. Then click ‘Install.‘

Step 3: Complete

Open the app from your home screen, and complete the Douyin app account signup process with a mobile phone number.

However, the signup and login process will all be in Mandarin. It can’t be translated to English on Android devices, even if your device is set to English. You can simply follow the steps below for guidance:

Tap the ‘Me’ (我) tab in the bottom right-hand corner
Enter your mobile number
Tap the pink ‘Send code’(验证并登录) button
Enter the SMS code sent to your phone
Click the pink ‘Login’(登录) button
Done!

If you still need clarification on the language barrier, feel free to get in touch with us to get step-by-step guidance for setting up your Douyin account!

How to download Douyin and open a Chinese account on an iOS device

Douyin is only available in the China mainland version of the App Store. So, if you are outside of China, you won’t be able to find the Douyin app on your default App Store. You need to first change the App Store region to mainland China in the App Store settings.

When doing this, you’ll be required to fill in some credentials, such as your Billing Address and Phone number. Since Douyin is free to download, we suggest choosing None to avoid that section and using an address generator to fill in the boxes.

After the App Store changes the region to mainland China, you can search for “Douyin” or “抖音” in the search box and install it.

Businesses

You can also create a business account if you have a China-registered company.

Like most video-streaming platforms, Douyin provides different advertisement formats. You can sign up on ByteDance’s ad platform Ocean Engine, which is also used by other social products by ByteDance.

Different Advertising Formats Supported On Douyin

To get started, you need a Douyin Account to log in at Doujia.

Do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese phone number or Chinese ID? We can help!

If you do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese ID, or Chinese phone number, and want to install and sign up for a Chinese TikTok/Douyin account without all the hassle, 21YunBox is here to help!

We can provide the necessary supporting documents to get started on Douyin and walk you through the process. Meanwhile, we will also bring your company, product, and service into full compliance with Chinese law.