TikTok Becomes Unavailable in the US as It Disappears from Apple and Google Stores Before Federal Ban

TikTok has stopped working in the United States and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores shortly before a federal ban on the Chinese-owned short-video app was due to take effect.

The company’s app was removed Saturday evening from prominent app stores, including those operated by Apple and Google, and its website told users that the short-form video platform was no longer available.

When users opened the TikTok app on Saturday, they encountered a pop-up message that said, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” and prevented them from scrolling through videos.

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message said. “Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the notice continued, in a reference to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to “save” the platform. The company told its users to stay tuned.

Before that announcement went out, TikTok had said in another message to users that its service would be “temporarily unavailable” and told them its working to restore its U.S. service “as soon as possible.” But how long the platform will remain dark is unclear.

In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump said he was thinking about giving TikTok a 90-day extension that would allow them to continue operating. If such an extension happens, Trump, who once favoured a TikTok ban said it would “probably” be announced Monday, the day that he is sworn in as president. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.

In 2024, Biden signed the law that put the current ban in place, which gave the app’s owners until Sunday to either shut down or sell to a buyer not defined as a “foreign adversary of the United States.”

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., introduced the original bill and it passed with veto-proof majorities and support from both Democrats and Republicans.

In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials raised concerns about the app, which they see as a national security threat due to its Chinese ownership.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a technology company based in Beijing that operates the well-known video editing apps CapCut and Lemon8, both of which were also unavailable for service on Saturday evening.