TikTok is no longer available in the United States, at least for now. But it’s not the only ByteDance-owned app that’s currently blocked for US users.
Shortly before the January 19 deadline imposed by the federal government, TikTok cut off access to anyone trying to access the app from the United States. “In the US, a law has been passed prohibiting TikTok. Unfortunately, that means you cannot use the TikTok app for now,” reads a lock screen that faces American users when they try to load the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office. Stay tuned!
Similar notifications appear on other apps owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, which is based in China and is at the center of controversy over a popular video app that, at least as of Saturday, had 170 million users on USA. Video editing app CapCut, photo and video sharing app Lemon8 and others have now disappeared in the US.
A federal law passed last year prohibits ByteDance-owned apps from operating in the United States for national security reasons. In reaction to Chinese laws requiring companies based in China to provide their data to the Chinese government and intelligence agencies, the Controlled Requests Act to Protect Americans from Foreign Adversaries (PAFACA) required ByteDance to sell TikTok and its other apps to an entity not based in China by Sunday.
That sale did not occur. As a result, TikTok began blocking US users on Saturday, January 18, ahead of the midnight deadline. Because PAFACA bans all apps operated by ByteDance, not just TikTok, users of its countless other apps abide by the same restrictions.
PAFACA does not require ByteDance to block users of its US-based apps. Instead, it prohibits any US company from providing any services to “distribute, maintain or update” ByteDance-owned apps. As a result, many of these apps are no longer available in the Apple and Google app stores. However, that may change soon after Donald Trump takes office on Monday, as the US president-elect indicated he plans to extend the deadline for the sale of TikTok by 90 days. Yes, it’s all very confusing.
For now, here’s the rundown of all the apps that US users can no longer access due to the US ban on ByteDance-owned apps.
TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Store Seller, TikTok Lite
Not just TikTok, but other ByteDance-owned apps that work for the TikTok ecosystem are also not available alongside the main app. These include TikTok Studio (for creators to manage content and check analytics), TikTok Shop Seller (for in-app e-commerce sellers to manage their business operations), and TikTok Lite (a smaller, faster version of the original app which is only available in certain countries).
cap cut
CapCut is a free video editing tool, optimized for vertical videos that can be published on TikTok. It is often the app of choice for amateur creators due to its professional features. Some creators also use CapCut to produce videos first before uploading them to platforms other than TikTok.
lemon8
ByteDance launched Lemon8 in February 2023 as a photo-based social media application. It is known for resembling RedNote, a particularly successful social media app in China that has also become the destination of many TikTok users in exile this week. Some TikTok users also chose to migrate to Lemon8, but the app also went offline.
Gauth
With Gauth, students can take photos of their assignments and the app will use artificial intelligence to understand the problem and provide step-by-step solutions. It also has other features that help students be more productive while studying. Depending on the application closing announcement This weekend it has “helped 300 million users with billions of questions.”
hipico
Hypic, launched in 2022, is a photo editing tool with a big focus on generative AI tools. It uses AI to help users improve photo quality or transform a photo into a cartoon.
Lark
Lark is a workspace communications app similar to Slack. Originally created for ByteDance’s internal messaging between employees, it has now become one of the most used office communications apps in China, with several million active users.
Melolo, Fizzo, MyTopia Books
Poligon, a subsidiary of Singapore-based ByteDance, publishes several apps that allow users to watch short vertical dramas (Melolo) or read fiction novels online (Fizzo and MyTopia Books). MyTopia Books is the only one of those apps that hasn’t stopped supporting US users and somehow remains available in Apple’s US App Store.
tokopedia
Tokopedia is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Indonesia. It was acquired by ByteDance in December 2023 and merged with TikTok Shop’s operation in the country after the latter app was banned by the Indonesian government. quoting “the need to protect the data of smaller users and merchants.”
It is no longer available in the Apple App Store in the US, but remains available in the Google Play Store in the US as of publication.