TikTok has begun to restore service for some U.S. users, despite remaining unavailable for download or updates on Apple’s App Store and Google Play. The social media giant announced on Sunday that it is “in the process of restoring service,” following a brief blackout over the weekend.
Searching for TikTok on the App Store currently displays a message stating that “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are not available in the country or region you’re in,” while Google Play cites “current U.S. legal requirements” as the reason for the app’s unavailability. Apple’s message also directs users to a support page explaining the app’s removal.
The blackout occurred late Saturday night, coinciding with the enforcement of a U.S. law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban. However, by Sunday, TikTok began working again for some users in the U.S., with the company attributing the restoration to agreements with its service providers. A pop-up notification within the app thanked users for their patience and attributed the resolution to “efforts by President Trump.”
Neither TikTok nor its partners, including hosting provider Oracle and CDN partner Akamai, have provided further details about the restoration. The move suggests reliance on a previous assurance from Trump that companies supporting TikTok would face “no liability.”
TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain as legal and political battles over the app’s ownership and security concerns continue to unfold.
