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TikTok is returning to the US after being temporarily offline to comply with the new sell-or-ban law that went into effect on January 19.
But there’s a catch: Google and Apple have yet to restore TikTok — or any other ByteDance apps — to their app stores.
A quick search for TikTok in the App Store shows a message: “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you are in.” On Google Play, users see: “Downloads for this app are suspended due to current US legal requirements.”
In a statement, TikTok shared that it was working to restore its service and thanked President-elect Donald Trump for providing the “necessary clarity and assurance” to its service providers that they would not face sanctions for restoring the app.
Trump has made several vague promises to “save” TikTok, while the Biden administration has left enforcement of the ban to his successors. Despite the assurances, none of the companies involved – Google, Apple, Oracle or Akamai – provided further details. For now, TikTok’s comeback appears to hinge on Trump’s mercurial word that backing the app won’t lead to legal trouble. Not everyone in government is on board, however. For example, Senator Tom Cotton praised app stores for removing ByteDance apps and warned that facilitating their return could lead to massive legal and financial consequences.
So TikTok can make a comeback – sort of. But what about other ByteDance apps like video editing tool CapCut, social platform Lemon8 or card game Marvel Snap? They are still unavailable, with no clear timetable for their return. Even Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner looked taken aback. The studio posted on Twitter: “The outage comes as a surprise to us and was not planned. MARVEL SNAP is going nowhere.”
Users trying to open ByteDance apps in the US will encounter a familiar message: they have been blocked due to US legal requirements. For example, CapCut displays a pop-up window saying, “A law has been passed in the US to ban CapCut. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use CapCut just yet. Rest assured, we are working to restore our services in the US. Please stay tuned!”
The ban also applies to other ByteDance tools such as TikTok Shop Seller Center, Lark and Gauth: AI Study Companion. Both app stores have posted notices explaining the unavailability of the apps, but users have no idea when — or if — they’ll return.
Interestingly, Instagram jumped at the opportunity to close the gap. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri recently announced the modificationsa new video editing tool that appears to be a direct competitor to CapCut. In the video announcement, Mosseri explained that Edits is more than just a video editor, offering a dedicated “for inspiration” tab, tools for organizing creative ideas, a camera and editing options. There is also a dashboard of live statistics and engagement metrics for those who share videos on Instagram.
Mosseri didn’t specifically say the app is targeting CapCut’s audience, but the timing seems intentional. With ByteDance apps in limbo, Edits is set to launch on March 13, 2025 and is already available for pre-order on the iOS App Store.
As TikTok and its sister apps navigate legal and operational hurdles, platforms like Instagram are clearly poised to capitalize on the uncertainty. Whether TikTok’s competitors will actually replace it — or whether the app will manage to make a full return — remains to be seen.
See also: TikTok refugees flock to RedNote as lawmakers press Biden to ban
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