TikTok is back in the US App Stores

The return of the TikTok App Store in the US and the app store’s app store: Can you create a video?

Find and install a VPN that can identify you as coming from that country. There are a variety of VPNs available; two that have been recommended to me by colleagues are NordVPN and Proton VPN

is a reviews editor who manages how-tos and various projects. She has worked as an editor and a writer for more than a decade, not wanting to admit to it. She can be found on threads as BarbarAsk.

The return concludes a fraught few weeks for TikTok. The platform was removed from app stores in the US hours before the ban went into effect. After Donald Trump promised that he would give more time for a resolution to be reached, it stopped working. If you already have the app on your phone, it was working by the afternoon.

You can choose between the small version of TikTok or the large version which takes up 409MB. For older phones and slower internet connections, the lite version is for you. Select which one you want to download.

Once the download is done and you’ve selected Open, you may get a notice telling you that your phone isn’t allowed to install unknown apps and that you have to change that in Settings. There will be a link to your Settings in the notice; tap it.

To make sure you don’t install other apps on your phone, if you want to be safe, you can go back into settings and allow from where you left off.

However, whether I used TikTok in Safari or Chrome on an iPhone, I found I was unable to create a video. I got a notice when I tried to open another app that it was trying to open the Tik Tok app, and when I hit Allow, it attempted to download the fake TikTok app.

When Apple notified TikTok it was not available to download in the country or region (or, where you’re in): Two weeks after Trump took office

The constant pop-ups and nudgings telling me that I could get the full experience by downloading the app, despite it not being available to download, is still frustrating.

Apple makes sure that users visiting its App Store are from the correct region. Getting around that can involve a number of hoops and may not work out so it is better to set your location somewhere other than in the US.

After Trump took office on January 20, one of his first executive orders gave TikTok a reprieve. The order says that the Attorney General will not enforce the Act for 75 days to allow the administration to decide the appropriate course of action.

While TikTok was unavailable, users searching for it on the iOS App Store were greeted by a message saying: “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in.” Users were sent a long article about why the app was gone and were reminded not to get any updates for as long as the ban was in place. The Google Play Store, meanwhile, said, “Downloads for this app are paused due to current US legal requirements.” Searchers were directed to competitor apps, several of which saw a bump in usage.

Before he took office, Trump proposed a 50 percent stake for the US in TikTok. The president reportedly recently tapped Vice President JD Vance to lead the negotiations between ByteDance and potential buyers. One reported scenario would involve Oracle and a group of other investors taking control of the platform.