When Will TikTok Be Back In App Stores? What Could Happen Without Updates

ByteDance restored TikTok service to U.S. users on Sunday following a temporary weekend shutdown. While the app is now online, users who deleted it are unable to download it, and current users cannot update the app.

The popular social media app went dark around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 18. after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law requiring TikTok to separate from its China-based owner ByteDance or face removal from U.S. app stores by Jan. 19. Frustrated users quickly turned to other social media platforms like X and Instagram to share their disappointment in the ban.

ForbesTikTok Still Off App Stores As Trump Freezes Ban—Here’s What To KnowBy Alison Durkee

But the shutdown turned out to be temporary, as TikTok restored service in the States by Sunday afternoon. This happened after then-President-Elect Donald Trump provided the “necessary clarity and assurance” to Tiktok’s service providers that they will face no penalties, and he pledged to suspend the ban as soon as he takes office.

On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the law for 75 days, granting ByteDance more time to sell a stake in the platform and allowing his administration to determine a course of action that “protects national security” and prevents the “abrupt shutdown” of the app.

While this offers a temporary relief for TikTok, millions of users are facing the fallout from the ban, which passed in Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. U.S. app stores continue to block TikTok, and without the ability to download updates, the app risks shutting down regardless.

Why Is TikTok Not Available On U.S. App Stores?

Despite Trump’s executive order, Apple and Google’s app stores have not reinstated TikTok or other ByteDance-owned apps like CapCut and Lemon8. This hesitation is likely due to concerns over potential legal liability if Trump reverses course and enforces the ban afterall.

The law banning TikTok stipulates that U.S. app stores could face fines of $5,000 for each user granted access to the app. With TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users, these fines could potentially add up to a staggering $850 billion. Additionally, the law’s five-year statute of limitations means the next president after Trump could still enforce violations.

University of Minnesota law professor Alan Rozenshtein expanded on this risk in a Jan. 21 article for Lawfare, stating that Trump’s assurances not to enforce the ban “offers minimal security” and that “courts rarely treat such promises as binding, even when defendants face serious consequences from relying on them.”

Apple recently published a webpage confirming that TikTok and ByteDance Ltd. apps are no longer available in the U.S. The company said that it is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates, adding that apps like TikTok, CapCut, and Lemon8 would “no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store” starting Jan. 19.

Shortly after TikTok was restored in the U.S., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, tweeted that “any company that hosts, distributes, services or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability.”

Apple and Google have not responded to Forbes’ requests for comment on whether they plan to restore access to TikTok.

When Will TikTok Be Available In U.S. App Stores?

It remains unclear when TikTok will return to Apple and Google’s app stores in the U.S. Users might have to wait until the tech giants receive additional legal protections to host the app or until ByteDance sells its U.S. assets — a process that could happen anytime before April 5, 2025, when Trump’s enforcement pause is set to expire.

After signing the executive order on Monday, Trump told reporters that the U.S. government is entitled to half of TikTok’s U.S. business in exchange for allowing the app to continue operating. He also warned that if China blocked the deal, “then that’s a certain hostility and we’ll put tariffs of 25, 30, 50%, even 100%.”

Trump also claimed that TikTok could be worth as much as a trillion dollars if “we would have a joint venture with the people from TikTok.”

What Will Happen If You Can’t Update TikTok?

Although users who have TikTok downloaded on their phone already can use the app now, that won’t be the case forever. The New York Times reported without the ability to update the app, TikTok will eventually “degrade” over time.

For example, users will be unable to receive new features, bug fixes, or performance improvements, which could impact the app’s functionality and user experience. Unresolved glitches could also cause the app to crash or stop working entirely.

Some users have reported on X that since the ban, their TikTok algorithms have been allegedly messed up. “anybody else tiktok algorithm messed up due to the ban ? don’t tell me i gotta rebuild my fyp,” one user wrote.

“TikTok has fallen. My algorithm is nowhere near the same as it was b4 the said ban,” posted another user.

Stay tuned to learn more.