Image: The Verge
Nearly a week after it was removed, the TikTok app is still missing from Apple and Google’s app stores.
The app was pulled from both stores after the US’ ban-or-divest law went into effect last weekend, which resulted in the service going dark within the United States. While TikTok came back online shortly after the ban, the app didn’t return to either mobile store. Apple and Google are at risk of paying billions in fines if they make TikTok available, and it’s unclear if President Donald Trump’s executive order refusing to enforce the ban actually removes that risk.
Apple and Google haven’t replied to multiple requests for comment from The Verge — including requests I made today — about if or when the app might be available again. Apple and Google do have statements about the removal of TikTok and other ByteDance-owned apps, but otherwise, no comment since. TikTok didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment, either.
Because these app stores are the primary way many people get software, TikTok’s absence basically means you can’t newly install the app — at least, for the time being — without jumping through a lot of hoops.
If you had TikTok on your phone before the ban kicked in, however, the app should work for you as normal. (As a result, people are trying to sell used phones with the TikTok app still on them.) You can also use TikTok in a browser — including on your phone.
