WASHINGTON — TikTok became unavailable for users in the U.S. on Saturday, soon before a ban on the popular social media platform officially went into effect.
TikTok greeted users opening the app Saturday night with the message, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message continued. “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. Please stay tuned!”
A spokesperson for President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday night about the app’s notification praising the president-elect specifically.
The message then prompted users to close the app or learn more. On the website landing page, the message had an additional line informing users that they could still log in to download their data.
The app also appeared to have been removed from Apple’s and Google’s app stores in the U.S., making it unavailable to download.
TikTok has 170 million U.S. users.
Other apps owned by TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, including CapCut, Lemon8 and Gauth, displayed similar messages and also became unavailable to many U.S. users Saturday evening.
Apple said on its website early Sunday that TikTok and ByteDance apps were no longer available in the U.S.
“Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates,” it said. “Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiaries — including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, and others — will no longer be available for download or updates on the App Store for users in the United States starting January 19, 2025.”
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TikTok’s shutdown follows several days of uncertainty leading up to Sunday, when the app’s U.S. ban went go into effect.
In April, President Joe Biden signed a law mandating that ByteDance sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner, or else it would be banned. The Supreme Court upheld the law on Friday, paving the way for the app to shut down in the United States.
But the Biden administration released a statement Friday indicating that it would leave the law’s enforcement up to the Trump administration. The law has become deeply unpopular with users and many Americans, and many TikTok users began fleeing to Chinese social media apps in protest.
The Biden administration’s comments that it would not enforce the ban on Sunday created uncertainty about whether the app would remain online for Americans.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have decried TikTok as a threat to national security because it is owned by a Chinese company. TikTok critics argued that the Chinese government could use the app to access Americans’ data or influence the type of content Americans watched.
But the company has pushed back on lawmakers’ concerns, instead painting the looming ban as a free speech and censorship issue. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has said that the app is safe and secure.
The app’s future is far from certain. Earlier on Saturday, Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker that he would “most likely” grant a 90-day extension beyond the Sunday deadline for ByteDance to sell the app and avoid a permanent ban.
“The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate,” Trump said.
Trump has flip-flopped on TikTok. In 2020 he said he wanted to ban the app. Years later, Trump reversed his position before making his own TikTok account during the 2024 presidential campaign. In one video, Trump said he would “save TikTok.”
In a video message posted on TikTok Friday, Chew thanked Trump, saying the incoming president strongly supported TikTok. Chew cited Trump’s popularity on the app, where he is the most followed American politician, with over 14 million followers.
Some TikTok users moved to rival social media platforms to commiserate over the app’s shutdown.
The popular Liza Minnelli Outlives X account weighed in, alerting followers that the actor had outlived the app, “forcing many people to find new ways to waste time.”
One user compared TikTok to the Detroit Lions because they were both “eliminated by Washington.”
Members of Trump’s administration remain divided over the app, with some, like incoming Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, advocating against Chinese influence over the app, while others, like unofficial government spending overseer Elon Musk, are pushing for TikTok to remain available on the basis of free speech.
On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social: “The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it. My decision on TikTok will be made in the not-too-distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”
Trump could maintain Biden’s decision not to enforce the law, but it’s unclear how long that would hold.
Users on TikTok were mourning the app’s potential downfall in the days leading up to its shutdown, with many top creators making compilations of their most viral moments or asking their followers to follow them on other platforms. Many TikTok users have flooded a Chinese app called RedNote in protest of the government, but it poses an even greater security threat than TikTok, according to experts who spoke with NBC News.
