TikTok finally returns to Apple & Google App Stores in US
Pexels: greenwish _Just weeks after TikTok was removed from the app stores due to a ban in the United States, the ByteDance-owned short-form video app has returned.
On January 18, 2025, just a day before TikTok’s ban in the US was set to take place – Apple and Google removed all ByteDance-owned apps from their respective stores.
iPhone users flocked to eBay to buy used devices with the app already installed, and even GameStop attempted to capitalize on users not being able to download the short-form video app.
Now, on Thursday, February 13, TikTok has returned to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store – leaving fans excited.
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Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman confirmed the news, and shortly after, other apps began showing up in the US yet again.
“BREAKING: Apple to bring back TikTok to the U.S. App Store today following a letter from Trump AG Pam Bondi, sources tell me,” he shared in a post on X.
“Imagine dropping $10,000 on an iPhone just to access TikTok… and now it’s coming back to the App Store for free,” one user said on X.
Another commented: “TIKTOK BACK ON THE APP STORE WHO BOUGHT IT.”
“YALL IF YOU DELETED TIKTOK OFF YOUR APP YOU CAN REDOWNLOAD IT ITS BACK ON THE APPLE STORE,” said a third.
While the US law banning TikTok in the country took effect on January 19, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order the next day that ordered the law not be enforced for 75 days.
Before that deadline of April 5, ByteDance must sell its shares in TikTok to a different company entirely, or face a full ban in the United States. It’s unknown whether or not the ban can be extended again, or if ByteDance is in talks with anyone to sell the app.
If they do though, it’s hard to tell who may become the next owner of the short-form video app. However, YouTube sensation MrBeast has made it quite clear he’s interested in partnering with a group of people to purchase the app.