TikTok may be up and working, however for some, a easy mistake nonetheless has them locked them out of the app.
The video-sharing platform went darkish on Sunday for 12 hours, inciting mass panic amongst content material creators as they obtained notifications that the app was now not accessible within the US.
Whereas some customers theorized it was not the top for TikTok, others thought it was gone for good, eradicating the app from their telephones.
A lot to their dismay, when customers gained entry once more faster than anticipated, those that deleted the app have been unable to re-download it from the App Retailer.
Determined TikTokkers begged others to disclose hacks to get the app again onto their units — some even provided money to purchase a brand new telephone with the app nonetheless put in.
“I deleted TikTok and now I can’t get it back!” one individual wrote on X. “I will pay someone $5,000 for an iPhone 16 Pro Max with TikTok still installed. DM me.”
On Apple’s assist dialogue pages and Reddit boards, dozens of disgruntled iPhone customers begged for workarounds to redownload the app.
One TikTokker, who goes by Terina, stated that she deleted the app from her “main phone” after it stored failing to connect with the web after the restrictions have been lifted, pondering that, if she deleted and redownloaded the app, it will work higher.
“There’s no way to get it back,” Terina lamented in her TikTok video. “It’s not in the App Store.”
On Jan. 19 — the day the TikTok ban went into impact — Apple launched an “unprecedented” assertion concerning the availability of ByteDance Ltd. apps, corresponding to TikTok, on the App Retailer.
“Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates,” Apple introduced, referencing the Defending People from International Adversary Managed Purposes Act.
The invoice, which “prohibits distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application,” has rendered TikTok — in addition to CapCut, Lemon8, amongst others — unavailable for obtain or updates in the interim regardless of entry being restored.
“If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device,” Apple acknowledged.
“But they can’t be redownloaded if deleted or restored if you move to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible.”
Whereas the app continues to be accessible if it was not deleted, it’s not capable of obtain updates from builders which, over time, might make TikTok — utilized by an estimated 170 million People — incompatible with Apple’s working methods and have an effect on the app’s efficiency and security measures.
It’s not clear when the app shall be accessible for obtain once more. On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an government order that granted an extension for TikTok to discover a purchaser, giving the platform 75 extra days.
His administration will “determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok,” in line with Trump, who informed reporters on Monday that “TikTok is worthless if I don’t approve it.”
