What you need to know
- TikTok has reportedly returned to the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, pre reports.
- ByteDance’s TikTok was hit with a U.S. ban on January 19 after the company failed to appease the concerns about “national security risks.”
- However, President Trump has granted leniency, granting 75 days to ByteDance so both parties can figure out a satisfying way forward.
- Last year, ByteDance stated it would rather ditch its U.S. presence than divest any part of TikTok.
ByteDance’s TikTok has reportedly returned to app stores in the U.S. following the U.S. government’s reported “reassurances.”
According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, TikTok was first spotted reappearing on the Apple App Store. Users on X chimed in, reporting that the app had returned as early as Wednesday, February 12. Experiences vary as some had more difficulties than others, but it seems more widely available for Apple’s iPhones today (Feb 14.)
Additionally, the publication reports that the app has reappeared on the Google Play Store. Android Central has also spotted TikTok’s availability via the Play Store, so users who may have deleted the app or never had it before can download it.
The publication states that TikTok’s return to Google and Apple resulted from a letter from the U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi. The letter supposedly offered consolation that the proposed U.S. ban wouldn’t “immediately” take effect.
The U.S. government originally banned TikTok on January 19 after its parent company, ByteDance, declined to sell the app. This followed a bill signed into law in April 2024, which targeted the app over its Chinese ownership and the possibility of a “national security threat.” U.S. users were left with a message when opening TikTok, highlighting its ban, but there was some hope.
TikTok stated “President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate” the app after his inauguration.
The company started working with service providers to restore TikTok’s services for users in the U.S., despite the app’s removal from stores. However, there’s still a lot of work to do. Bloomberg states TikTok has 75 days (from Jan 20) to work with the U.S. government to find common ground with privacy/security concerns over its citizen’s data. This means we’ll have to wait and see if TikTok is back for good in April 2025.
The publication adds that ByteDance remains against divesting any part of TikTok to the U.S. The Chinese-based company stood firm on that sentiment last year, stating it would rather ditch its U.S. presence than sell. ByteDance said the “special algorithms” used for TikTok would make selling the app difficult. Moreover, these algorithms are a crucial part of the app’s business, and trying to make things work in a sell might cause more harm.