You can finally officially download TikTok again

Summary

TikTok and CapCut are officially back on the App Store and Google Play Store in the US.
Google and Apple received assurances from the Trump administration they would not face fines for hosting the app.
The enforcement of the US law banning TikTok was delayed by 75 days (until April) by President Trump so a deal with Byte Dance could be worked out.

Nearly a month after its temporary shutdown in the US, TikTok is officially back on the App Store and Google Play Store after the US law banning the app went into effect on January 19. On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban until April to negotiate a deal with ByteDance. Although the app has been back online, it had been unavailable in app stores until now.

This means that if you’re using an iPhone, you can once again install TikTok through the App Store. If you’re on Android, you no longer have to worry about side-loading the app; you can simply head to the Google Play Store and download it. The return of TikTok to both major app stores also means that it can be updated again if you already have it installed.

CapCut, ByteDance’s video editing app, is also available again in app stores.

TikTok

TikTok is a popular social media app from the company ByteDance. It has gone viral for its short form videos and influencer culture.

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TikTok’s future remains in the balance

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A hand scrolling TikTok on a phone over a red, gray, and black background.

While this is a positive development for TikTok, the road ahead remains unclear. This whole saga started when the US Congress passed a bill banning TikTok in the US, citing concerns it posed a national security threat. The bill forces ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell half the app to a US company or shut down. The original deadline for TikTok to do this was January 19, but President Trump delayed it by 75 days (until April) via an executive order on January 20.

Due to the ban, both Google and Apple removed the app from their respective app stores. The law stipulates that any app store hosting TikTok must remove it or face a $5000 penalty for each US user who downloads it. According to Bloomberg’s report, Google and Apple have both received assurances from the Trump administration that they would not face fines for hosting the app.

It remains a mystery who will buy TikTok in the US or if Bytedance is even willing to sell it. While TikTok’s return to the App Store and Google Play Store is a positive development, everything could be back to square one in April if ByteDance doesn’t broker a deal. Stay tuned, folks; this TikTok story isn’t over yet.