After over 25 days of absence, Apple and Google reinstated TikTok in the U.S. on Thursday evening. The two tech giants had previously removed the app from their respective app stores on January 18 due to concerns related to national security legislation.
In addition to TikTok, other apps from ByteDance, such as the video editing tool CapCut and the social platform Lemon8, were also reinstated on these stores. Apple had released a somewhat uncommon support document explaining the removals, but it has since been deleted.
Following the removal, TikTok began restoring services for existing users on January 19, although Apple and Google continued to exclude the app from their stores. This meant that those who had uninstalled TikTok could not reinstall it. Earlier this month, TikTok encouraged Android users to sideload the app directly from its website.
Immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting a 75-day extension for TikTok to either divest to a U.S. entity or face a ban.
Trump expressed last month his desire for the U.S. to hold a 50% stake in TikTok through a collaborative venture with other firms. He also initiated a U.S. sovereign fund that could engage in the app’s acquisition negotiations.
According to a report from CNBC last month, TikTok’s traffic almost recovered 90% compared to pre-ban levels, based on data from Cloudflare Radar. Meanwhile, competing social platforms are attempting to capitalize on the ongoing uncertainty; both X and Bluesky introduced specialized vertical video feeds, while Meta announced a video editing application to rival CapCut.
Analytics firm Sensor Tower noted that TikTok was the second most downloaded app in the U.S. last year, amassing 52 million downloads.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
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