TikTok Returns To Apple, Google Stores In US

TikTok has returned to be listed once again on the app stores of both Apple and Google in the United States, much to the relief of its 170 million users in America.

On Saturday 18 January TikTok had briefly stopped working for its 170 million users in the US ahead of a nationwide ban that was due to begin on Sunday 19 January 2025. Some users however were reportedly able to log on to the platform via their mobile apps and desktops.

TikTok also disappeared from Apple and Google app stores on 18 January and did not return to the app stores until now.

The TikTok service suspension briefly prompted thousands of its users to migrate to Chinese social media app RedNote.

Divest delay

However user access to TikTok in the US was quickly restored on Sunday 19 January.

TikTok at the time had confirmed it was restoring service in the US, thanks to the intervention from President Donald Trump.

“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” it stated at the time. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”

The brief TikTok switch off in the US came after the Supreme Court had upheld the divest or ban law (otherwise known as the ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.’)

President Trump used his first day in office to sign a huge number of executive orders, including one for TikTok, delaying by 75 days the enforcement of a ban on the app.

This meant TikTok’s 19 January deadline had been pushed back until Saturday 5 April.

Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s CEO, was among the leaders of big name tech firms that had attended the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.

Trump meanwhile has suggested that TikTok could be jointly owned, with half of its ownership being American and half Chinese.

Potential US buyers of TikTok include real estate mogul Frank McCourt, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and popular YouTuber MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson).

TikTok ban

The US Congress had passed a bill in April 2024 mandating that parent company ByteDance either sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a total shutdown in the US.

Shortly after that US President Joe Biden signed the bill into law.

TikTok is already been banned on US federal devices due to national security concerns.

A majority of US states have also banned the app on state-owned devices.