TikTok ban live updates — TikTok is back ahead of inauguration and expected executive order
TikTok's services have been restored after Trump pledges to save it
Why you can't download TikTok on iOS?
In a move that's virtually unheard of, Apple has issued a support document explaining why ByteDance apps were removed.
As first spotted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in a post on X, Apple has issued a support document about TikTok titled: “About availability of TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. apps in the United States."
The document lists other affected apps besides TikTok, such as Marvel Snap, Lemon8 and CapCut, that Bytedance owns. “If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device. But they can’t be redownloaded if deleted or restored if you move to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible,” Apple explains. The company goes on to say that if you try to access these apps in the U.S., you will be “unable to download, update, or make in-app purchases and new subscriptions inside ByteDance Ltd. apps while within the land or maritime borders of the United States.” Once you leave the U.S., full functionality returns.
Keen to download the app again? You can get around the ban with a VPN (provided you're on Android)
We may be on the other side of the TikTok ban, but the app is still not appearing on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. While you're out of luck on Apple's side, we're hearing reports that using one of the best VPNs can get you access to it.
We've put together a guide on how to use a VPN and which ones we think you should try out.
This is a lot more safe than trying to download the Android Package file from a third party site (APK), as you can never be sure what's been snuck into the code through these services.
How long could Trump delay the TikTok ban for?
The Washington Post has reported that President-elect Donald Trump's executive order would suspend enforcing the TikTok ban for between 60 and 90 days.
Trump appears to believe that saving TikTok will help him reach an "adoring audience" that reportedly is on the app.
It's a strange twist in the TikTok saga since the ban law was initially kickstarted toward the end of his first term and finalized during President Biden's administration.
TikTok is still unavailable in app stores
So while TikTok services have been restored in the U.S., the app is still technically banned. And in response, you may be searching for the app and not seeing it in the iOS App Store or Google Play.
That's because the risk is still significant, to the tune of $5,000 for each new user if these app stores continued to host the app. My anticipation is that if/when the executive order is signed, we will see the store pages return for you to download TikTok.
Time will tell, and nothing is for certain right now.
Don't expect TikTok to get the same treatment in UK
TikTok has really been through the wringer in the U.S. over the past 24 hours. But what about globally? Well we know one thing for sure — the video platform is not in the UK's crosshairs.
As reported by The Guardian, Labour MP Darren Jones told the BBC has confirmed that there is "no plan from the U.K." to ban the app. "...for consumers who want to post videos of their cats or dancing, that doesn’t seem like a national security threat to me."
So if you're on my side of the Atlantic (my last name is a dead giveaway of that), don't expect any sort of restrictions to be put in place any time soon "unless or until, at some point in the future there is a threat that we are concerned about in the British interest."
Flashes is an Instagram alternative
The search for a TikTok alternative may be waning as the service is restored, but you may also be searching alternatives to Instagram with Zuckerberg's recent "masculine energy" turn being a deterrent to many.
Enter Flashes, which could be considered the Bluesky for Instagram. Flashes is built on top of Bluesky's open protocol and is meant to operate similarly to Instagram. It also means you can share images and videos from Flashes to your Bluesky account.
Right now, the creator says it won't offer all the same features as Instagram, but it's not a Meta platform and that may be appealing enough.
Meanwhile, Instagram is adding a number of new features to Reels, its TikTok ripoff. These include a new Reels feed of videos your friends have liked or commented on.
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RedNote is showing users what Chinese-style censorship is actually like
On the run up to the TikTok ban and during the 12 hours it was out, users flocked to Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. But in doing so, people are getting a real taste of censorship.
According to CNN, users have ran into censorship rules that "go far beyond what they're used to." China's internet is built to censor an "ever-growing list of terms deemed sensitive, either politically or otherwise," which has translated into huge amounts of content being moderated and removed for violating guidelines.
One such example was one American user who identified themselves as 'non-binary' being censored in a post that asked if the platform welcomed gay people. Another involved a male fitness influencer not being able to post photos of his fitness journey because content moderators quickly shut it down as "sexually suggestive."
The shift to TikTok alternatives was huge yesterday
We're starting to get more of a look at what exactly happened during the outage of TikTok. The results, according to Cloudflare, was an 85% drop in traffic to anything related to ByteDance-owned platforms — timed perfectly to the popup people saw saying TikTok wasn't available.
At the same time, RedNote saw a 74% surge on the 19th. But most interestingly, this doesn't seem to be just a U.S. thing. Globally, there was a 500% increase in Mexico, a 68% increase in Canada, 53% in UK, 110% in Germany and 75% in France.
While we don't know what has happened yet since restoration of the platform (expect those numbers soon), it does show that social platform allegiance moves as a sort of global conscience!
Is Meta's CapCut Copycat already DOA?
TikTok wasn't the only ByteDance-owned app that went down for those 12 hours. CapCut also bit the dust, and while everyone scrambled for CapCut alternatives, Meta swooped in with its own copycat called Edits.
“Now there’s a lot going on in the world right now, and no matter what happens, we think it’s our job to create the most compelling creative tools for those of you who make videos — for not just Instagram, but for platforms out there — as we can,” explained Instagram's head honcho Adam Mosseri in a video message.
But with the app not set to go live until February, is it already DOA — given CapCut is already back? Time will tell, but this could be opportunism that comes way too late.
How did we get here?
It's a fair question to ask. "It's back" is trending all over X with TikTok users celebrating Trump's commitment to sign an executive order saving it, but that's not always been his position.
You see, the snowball effect for all of this started back in August 2020 when Trump signed an executive order to attempt to ban the app. In it, he talks about how the app "continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
Trump changed course in March 2024, when he argued that while there were national security concerns, TikTok would empower Facebook — a social media platform that he branded the "enemy of the people."
But by this point, congressional hearings had already been happening for 12 months, and a bill to ban the platform had already gathered steam in Congress.
