CapCut’s New Terms: ByteDance Gains Perpetual Rights to User Content, Likeness, & Voice Globally
Ddos 
CapCut, the popular video editing tool under ByteDance, quietly updated the terms of service for its international version on June 12, 2025. Notably, the company did not send out a global email notification to users nor did it highlight the key changes within the updated agreement.
According to the revised terms, any content edited using CapCut—including but not limited to videos, audio, facial data, and more—grants ByteDance an irrevocable, worldwide license for usage, encompassing promotional and advertising purposes.
For instance, even if a creator uploads a simple video clip containing only a voiceover, ByteDance reserves the right to use the audio in advertisements or other media without notifying the user, offering compensation, or providing any recourse for appeal.
Specifically, in the user-generated content section of the terms:
“Except as expressly provided otherwise in these Terms, you or the owner of your User Content still own the copyright and any other intellectual property rights in User Content submitted to us, but by submitting User Content via the Services, you acknowledge and agree that you allow us to upload such content to our server and hereby grant us and our affiliates, agents, services providers, partners and other connected third parties an unconditional, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully transferable (including sub-licensable), perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, adapt, reproduce, make derivative works of, display, publish, transmit, distribute and/or store your User Content for providing the Services for you.
You further grant us and our affiliates, agents, services providers, partners and other connected third parties a royalty-free fully transferable (including sub-licensable), worldwide license to use your username, image and likeness to identify you as the source of any of your User Content, including for use in sponsored content.”
By uploading or submitting content through the service, you forfeit the right to preview or approve any marketing, advertising, or promotional materials associated with your content. You also waive any and all rights of privacy, publicity, or other similar legal entitlements connected to your content.
Moreover, you expressly renounce and agree never to assert any moral rights you may have in relation to content you upload or otherwise submit through the platform, nor to endorse or support any claims based on such rights.
ByteDance’s legal language is meticulous and unequivocal: any material edited through CapCut must be granted to ByteDance for free, irrevocable use—regardless of whether the user later deletes their account. The company retains perpetual rights to that content.
This includes scenarios where a user edits a personal video using CapCut—ByteDance may legally utilize the user’s likeness in advertisements. Even if such advertisements are problematic or damaging, the user has no grounds for appeal, as the terms explicitly state that the right to review or seek compensation has been waived.
Additionally, legal complications may arise if users edit content they do not own. Even in such cases, the material is licensed to ByteDance, yet any legal consequences of copyright infringement would fall solely on the user.
CapCut enjoys widespread popularity due to their ease of use compared to other professional video editing tools. However, this latest terms of service update raises significant concerns. Creators are strongly advised to read the terms carefully and weigh the potential implications before using the platform.
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