US residents and those traveling to the country will likely lose access to TikTok after January 19, 2025, as this is the deadline for TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell to a US-approved buyer or have the app banned in the US. With ByteDance refusing to sell, many are already turning to the best VPNs to attempt to get around the potential ban. I'll go into how to do this in more detail below, but for now, here's a quick overview of why this is happening.
The popular short-form video-sharing app, owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, has been continuously scrutinized by US lawmakers who allege that the company could pass user data on to the Chinese Communist Party. ByteDance has denied these allegations, explaining that its US user data is stored in the US, with backups in Singapore. The main driving force behind this is national security concerns, as TikTok, and by extension, ByteDance has access to the data of 170 million American users. Should the bill come into effect, the company will be forced to sell the app to an American company or face a ban in the country.
With everything pointing to the latter, anyone wanting to access the app will need to get around the ban. Read on for more detail on how to get around the potential US TikTok ban after January 19.
How will TikTok be banned?
One thing is certain: January 19, 2025 is D-Day for TikTok in the US. TikTok's current owner, ByteDance, has until this date to either find a US-approved buyer or face having the app banned nationwide.
It's important to note that, at this point, no one really knows what the ban will actually look like. Most likely, the app will be removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, meaning people will no longer be able to download the app or any updates for it. This will mean that while users will still be able to access the app for a while, this lack of updates will eventually render it inoperable.
Additionally, if the app is banned at an internet service provider (ISP) level – similar to India's 2020 ban of TikTok – users will need a VPN to spoof their location to a country where TikTok isn't banned to access the app.
You can check out our list of the best TikTok VPNs for our recommendations for the best VPNs to access it with, and below you can find out how to spoof your location using one.
"Geo-spoofing" means changing your virtual location, which is typically achieved by changing your IP address. One of the perks of using a VPN is that it allows you to appear to be located somewhere else online, instead of your actual physical location.
For instance, if you connect to a VPN server in the US, you look as if you're connecting from the US, regardless of your physical location. Similarly, if you connect to a VPN server from another country in the world, it'll look as if your physical location (IP address) is in that country. As a bonus, a VPN will also encrypt your internet traffic, making it impossible for third parties like the government or your ISP to monitor your online activities.
While typically used for accessing geo-blocked content from the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon, and other sites, this feature may also help you access TikTok by making it seem like you're accessing the app from a country/part of the world where it isn't banned.
Why is TikTok being banned?
The main reason for TikTok's impending ban in the US relates to rising geopolitical tensions between America and China. The fractured relationship between TikTok and the US government goes back years.
President Biden signed a bill into law in April 2024 that gave ByteDance nine months to find a US-approved buyer or face a ban in the country. On December 6, 2024, the US Justice Department's Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said this law was "an important step in blocking the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to collect sensitive information about millions of Americans, to covertly manipulate the content delivered to American audiences, and to undermine our national security."
In turn, ByteDance initially refused a sale, said no data would be handed over, and denied allegations of being linked to the Chinese government. Additionally, the company filed numerous legal challenges against the proposals and argued a TikTok ban would be unconstitutional.
In a hearing on January 10, 2025, the Supreme Court heard arguments from the US government and TikTok. TikTok argued the ban was a violation of free speech rights, while the Supreme Court Justices argued the amount of data TikTok collects makes it a threat to national security, as it is owned by a foreign adversary.
It is still not certain whether or not the ban will come into place on the 19 January, as officials within the Biden administration have told NBC that they are "exploring options" to avoid a complete shutdown of TikTok. Additionally, President-Elect Donald Trump's national security advisor to-be, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that the Trump administration is "going to find a way to preserve [TikTok] but protect people's data". Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on January 20.
Should ByteDance decide to sell TikTok to an American company, the ban could potentially be avoided. However, this would have to be approved by both the US and Chinese governments, which would not be straightforward.
Alternatively, licensing the brand to a US company or splitting it – and creating TikTok US as an independent company – is also among the ways the app could survive. There's also a possibility that the ruling could be delayed further or even reversed.
The fight for an extension on the ban is even coming from inside the US government itself, with Senator Edward Markey introducing the Extend The TikTok Deadline Act on 13 January, which aims to extend the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok by 270 days.
Whatever the case may be, at Tom's Guide, we believe in being prepared at all times. Check out our guides to the best iPhone VPNs and best Android VPNs to make sure you're prepared to stay on TikTok in the US after January 19, 2025 – even if it is just in case.
