Neither Apple nor Google have returned TikTok to their respective app stores, and with very good reason: the supposed get-out-of-jail-free card offered by Trump is nothing of the sort. Both companies would be left exposed to hundreds of billions of dollars of liability.
As of the weekend, Android users who want to download TikTok do have another option – but it’s not one I’d advise them to take. Instead, they’d be better off using the workaround available to iPhone users …
Why TikTok hasn’t returned to app stores
The law requires the app to be sold to an American company, and until that happens, it remains illegal for US companies to have any business dealings with parent company ByteDance. This means app stores cannot make it available for download.
Trump did issue an executive order pausing enforcement of the law, but that order is probably unlawful, and certainly offers no protection to companies that rely on it. They can still be prosecuted under a future administration, or indeed under this one if Trump changes his mind or takes a dislike to one of the companies – both things he does regularly.
It’s no surprise, then, that none of the main app stores – Apple, Google, Microsoft, or Amazon – have restored the app.
Direct downloads are available for Android users
As out sister site 9to5Google reported, ByteDance has now made the TikTok Android app available for direct download, bypassing Google’s app store.
The popular app is now available for direct download as an APK while it remains blocked from the Google Play Store […] In a post on Twitter/X, TikTok has announced that it has opened up direct APK downloads for its Android app, as well as a “Lite” version.
That means they would be downloading an app direct from a Chinese company with no vetting or oversight by an intermediary app store in the US.
Now, it may be that the direct download is the exact same binary as the one previously hosted in the Google Play Store, and it’s perfectly safe. Then again, maybe not.
Copying iPhone users is safer
Apple’s walled garden approach means there’s no way for an ordinary iPhone owner to install an app other than through the App Store (or, in EU countries, a third-party app store).
But there is a workaround for iPhone users: just add the tiktok.com website to your Home Screen. This is done by visiting the website, tapping the Share button, and selecting the Add to Home Screen option. This then provides instant access to TikTok on the web.
I’d recommend Android users do the same thing.
White House explores alternatives to outright sale
While the law requires TikTok’s US operations to be sold to an American company, the WSJ reports that the White House is exploring a potential joint venture, which might even include the government.
Last week, TikTok Chief Executive Shou Chew met with senior White House officials and offered a proposal that envisioned a joint venture with U.S. investors. That new venture would be headquartered in the U.S. and oversee data security, according to a person familiar with the proposal. Management would be U.S.-based and a board of directors would be a majority U.S. members. Whether the investors include the U.S. government itself is an open question.
Complicating matters is the new trade war instigated by Trump, in which TikTok may become a bargaining chip. The legality of any backroom deal with the White House does, however, remain questionable.
Image: 9to5Mac composite using background by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash
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