CapCut, known in China as JianYing () and formerly internationally as ViaMaker, is a Chinese short-form video and graphic editing app developed by the Chinese company

ByteDance ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, and incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Founded by Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo, and a team of others in 2012, ByteDance developed the video-sharing ap ...

History

The app was first released in China in 2019 and was initially available for

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

and Android. In 2020, it was renamed as CapCut (formerly ViaMaker internationally) and became available internationally. It later expanded to include web and desktop versions for Mac and Windows. In 2022, CapCut reached 200 million active users. According to ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', in March 2023, it was the second-most downloaded app in the U.S., behind that of Chinese discount retailer Temu. In January 2025, CapCut had over 1 billion downloads on the

Google Play Store Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

Controversies and Incidents

Ban in India

As a response to 2020 China-India Skirmishes, On May 2020, The Indian Government has banned around 56 applications which also included

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, owned by the CapCut's parent company

. Indian users were unable to use and download the application. As of February 2022, around 273 Chinese applications have been banned by the

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

under the concern of National Security and Indian User Privacy. Though the app itself can now be used in India, Users are unable to access the CapCut's website, nor they are able to download the application easily via official channels (like

). While the core functions of the app works, any online services (which includes downloading of transitions and effects, account registration and subscription) cannot be accessed without the use of

VPN Virtual private network (VPN) is a network architecture for virtually extending a private network (i.e. any computer network which is not the public Internet) across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted (as they are not c ...

Illegal data collection

On July 2023, many users of CapCut accused it of illegally profiting off their personal data. A

class-action A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...

lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 28, 2023 alleged that CapCut illegally harvests and profits from user data including biometric information and geolocation without consent.

Ban in the United States

On January 18, 2025, at 10 PM EST, CapCut was banned in the United States along with

and all other ByteDance apps due to the implementation of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. CapCut unblock message

Hours after the suspension of services took effect,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

indicated on

Truth Social Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH) is an alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), an American media and technology company majority-owned by U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a "Twitter clone" ...

that he would issue an executive order on the day of his inauguration "to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect". On January 21, CapCut began restoring service. On February 13, Google and Apple restored CapCut on the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

and Google Play Store.

Features

CapCut supports basic video editing functions, including editing, trimming, and adding or splitting clips. Editing projects is limited to single-layer editing, but the app supports overlay options that enable additional effects, including multi-layer editing. The app includes a library of pre-made templates and a tool that generates editable video captions. Users can export or save completed projects directly to different social media platforms. CapCut includes a free version and a paid Pro version with cloud storage and advanced features.

Brands

* CapCut Mobile App * CapCut Desktop * CapCut for Business * CapCut Dreamina * CapCut Speech * CapCut Pro * CapCut Commerce Pro

References

External links

*
Court documents
{{Audio editors ByteDance 2019 software 2024 software HarmonyOS software Video editing software Internet censorship in the United States