TikTok is back on US app stores

Feb 15, 2025

TikTok returns to US app stores after Trump's deferral of its ban.

: Apple and Google restored TikTok in the US after Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated the ban wouldn't be immediately enforced. ByteDance worked under pressure as Biden's law necessitated TikTok's US operations be sold by January 2025. With Trump's extension, a buyer for TikTok is sought, with Oracle and Microsoft interested. Meanwhile, competitors like X and Bluesky launched similar services amidst TikTok's uncertainties.

Apple and Google have reinstated TikTok, along with ByteDance's CapCut and Lemon8, in US app stores nearly a month after their removal due to a national security ban. The restoration followed a letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, indicating the ban wouldn't be enforced immediately, although the Supreme Court affirmed the earlier imposed law.

ByteDance faces a mandate from former President Joe Biden's law, demanding the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations by January 19, 2025, or prohibiting the app in the U.S. Despite this, current President Donald Trump has delayed the enforcement by giving ByteDance 75 more days to secure a new buyer.

Amid the uncertainty, competitors like X and Bluesky introduced new vertical video features to capture market share. TikTok remained the second most downloaded app in the U.S. last year with 52 million downloads, as Oracle and Microsoft emerged as potential buyers for its U.S. operations.