Many iPhone users are left annoyed after a simple mistake left them unable to get TikTok back following its ban in the US.
On Saturday evening, TikTok went dark for its 170 million American users, displaying a message that the app was no longer available.
Just 12 hours later, the Chinese-based app announced its return, sharing a hopeful message to its users: “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!”
However, many took the blackout to mean the app was gone for good and deleted it from their phones. Unfortunately, those quick to pull the trigger were met with shock when they tried to reinstall it from the App Store.
Some confused and frustrated users turned to an Apple discussion thread to find an answer.

Kayla Bartkowski / Staff / Getty
“I deleted TikTok once I heard that it would be banned because I thought it would be it then it was announced that TikTok had been UN-banned so I went to the App Store and I couldn’t find the app to put TikTok back in the App Store,” one user wrote.
Another person even offered money to anyone who could get TikTok back for them.
They shared on X: “I deleted TikTok and now I can’t get it back! I will pay someone $5,000 for an iPhone 16 Pro Max with TikTok still installed. DM me.”
Currently, TikTok is unavailable in the Apple App Store for US users. That means users who deleted the app are unable to reinstall it.
If you try to search for it, you’ll see a message saying: “TikTok and other ByteDance apps are no longer available in the country or region you’re in.
“If you already have these apps installed on your device, they will remain on your device. But they can’t be redownloaded if deleted or restored if you move to a new device. In-app purchases and new subscriptions are no longer possible.”

CHIP SOMODEVILLA / Contributor / Getty
The restriction applies to visitors in the US, even if their Apple ID is linked to a different country.
For users who didn’t delete TikTok, the app will remain functional but won’t receive any updates. And some app features may even stop working over time.
Apple warned that this could ‘potentially impact performance, security, and compatibility with future versions of iOS and iPadOS, and some app functions might become limited or stop working since the app can’t receive updates.’
It is unclear when the app will return to stores as its future is still up in the air. As of recent, YouTube star MrBeast is officially placing a bid to purchase the app.
Featured Image Credit: Anna Barclay/Contributor / NurPhoto/Contributor / Getty

iPhone with TikTok still installed are selling for insane prices since the ban over the weekend.
America’s TikTok ban didn’t turn out as intended, and as the Supreme Court ruled against the short-term video platform and pulled it from all U.S. devices, the January 19 ban sent everything dark. It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump to post “SAVETIKTOK” on his Truth Social platform, and just 12 hours after the ban, TikTok confirmed it was in the process of restoring access across the USA.
Things moved at breakneck speed after Trump vowed to sign an executive order extending the period that the Chinese-owned ByteDance would have to sell the app’s U.S. operations. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew made a surprise appearance alongside the world’s biggest tech bros at Trump’s January 20 inauguration, while the POTUS’ promises to sign an executive order flew through.

TikTok-loaded iPhones are being listed for up to $50,000 (eBay)
TikTok’s regular 170 million monthly users have access to their precious videos, with Trump being hailed as the app’s savior, but you’re not out of the woods yet.
Senator Tom Cotton posted on X, warning that any “company that hosts, distributes, services, or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law.” TikTok is currently off the Apple App Store, which has led to a bizarre side effect of TikTok-loaded iPhones going for ridiculous sums online.
In a complicated turn of events, TikTok is still live but you can’t download it onto new devices. The scalpers are making the most of this, and a quick scan of eBay shows apparently genuine listings for TikTok iPhones for thousands of dollars.
One jaw-dropping listing includes an Apple iPhone 16, pre-loaded with TikTok, priced at $50,000. We’re not sure of the legitimacy of this or if someone is having a laugh, but elsewhere, there’s an iPhone 16 Pro Max for $21,959.00 (or accepting a best offer) and an iPhone 15 Pro Max for $3,500.
Others seem to be genuinely drumming up interest, as at the time of writing, there are 33 bids on an iPhone 11 (currently sitting at $160.50) and seven bids on an iPhone 15 Pro Max (now at $155.50).
It seems unlikely that the ones going for thousands will actually sell, but at the lower end of the spectrum, there’s soaring interest in pre-owned TikTok iPhones.
When Pubity shared it on Instagram, there were plenty of hilarious comments. One skeptic wrote: “If you bought one of these hmu I’ve got some air to sell you.”
Another added: “Okay but are people actually paying that much cuz i’ll sell my phone right now?”
A third concluded, “Flappy Bird walked so TikTok could run” – referring to when iPhones featuring the defunct mobile game were being listed for $90,000.
Interestingly, the Flappy Bird phones were supposedly pulled for violating eBay’s rules that smartphones have to be restored to factory settings before resale, meaning some people could be about to buy some very expensive iPhones without getting their TikTok fix.
As the likes of Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson rush to try and buy TikTok’s U.S. operations, we’d hold off on selling our old iPhones for now.
Featured Image Credit: VCG/Contributor / Anthony Kwan/Stringer / Getty

TikTok has issued an urgent memo to its 17,000 US employees ahead of a possible total shutdown that is now just three days away.
The social media platform is expected to be banned in the US on January 19 unless the Supreme Court steps in.
Donald Trump, who is due to be inaugurated one day after the ban goes into effect, has said that he should have more time to resolve the issue.

TikTok’s days seem to be numbered in the US (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The popular app is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance and as of December 2024, it is reported to employ around 17,000 people in the US alone.
Over 170 million TikTok users in the US could see their favorite app face the chop in the next few days and now TikTok has issued an urgent memo.
Writing internally to its US employees, the company said: “I cannot emphasize enough that your well-being is a top priority and so most importantly, I want to reinforce that as employees in the US, your employment, pay, and benefits are secure, and our offices will remain open, even if this situation hasn’t been resolved before the January 19 deadline.
“Our leadership team remains laser-focused on planning for various scenarios and continuing to plan the way forward.
“The bill is not written in a way that impacts the entities through which you are employed, only the US user experience.”
Existing users would still be able to access the app but downloads on app stores will be blocked from January 19.

Donald Trump is hoping to save the app (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
However, users who can still access TikTok will no longer be able to update the platform, meaning that it will eventually stop working.
Last month, Trump credited TikTok for being part of the reason for his election success in November 2024.
He said: “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points.
“And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with it.
“Now, Joe Rogan did, and some of the other people that were recommended by my son Barron.
“He knew names and I said, ‘who is that? Tell me, who’s that?’ ‘Dad, you got to be kidding. I can’t believe you don’t know’.”
The president-elect has been looking for ways to save the app ahead of its looming ban and there has been talk of an executive order being put in place.
However, a solution has yet to be confirmed.

TikTok users are flooding to a new app as the US ban looms.
With the potential ban of TikTok in the US hanging in the air, many users are jumping ship to alternative platforms.
One lesser-known app that’s now seeing a surge in popularity is Little Red Book, also known as Xiaohongshu or RedNote.
The app, which is available on both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, is like a mix of TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest.
It displays the familiar vertical video feed tailored to personal interests. As of recent, RedNote has become the top-ranked app in the Apple store and reached the 34th spot on Google’s platform.
Launched in 2013, RedNote is one of the most popular apps in China and boasts over 300 million monthly active users.
The app is valued at over $3 billion with nearly $1 billion in venture funding and has been a mainstay in China for years, competing with platforms like Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) and Alibaba, according to TechCrunch.

CFOTO / Contributor / Getty
But it’s received more worldwide attention after the news of a potential TikTok ban in the US came to light.
In April last year, the US Congress passed a bipartisan bill threatening to ban TikTok unless its ownership changes.
President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 24 2024 which gives its parent company ByteDance 270 days to divest from TikTok or face a ban. The app is classed as ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ because of alleged links with China and concerns about US users’ data being shared unlawfully with the Communist government.
TikTok and ByteDance have denied these allegations and are contesting the ban at the Supreme Court.
The uncertainty has led many TikTok creators to experiment with RedNote as a new platform, sharing tutorials and inviting their followers to try it out.
Videos welcoming so-called ‘TikTok refugees’ have helped RedNote gain traction.

Anna Barclay / Contributor / Getty
Much of the app’s interface is still in Chinese, however, which can be confusing for new users.
But as more people join and assist newcomers, users have started creating tutorials on TikTok to guide others on changing the app’s language to English, making it more accessible to a global audience.
Whether the ban will go ahead is still up in the air for the time being.
“A TikTok ban would be absolutely catastrophic for the creators and the small businesses who rely on it,” said Jess Maddox, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama.
“I’ve spent my career talking to creators and influencers, they are resilient, they’ll pivot, but it will be a struggle in the meantime and take a hit to them financially.”

A woman was shocked to find that the prices on the same app are actually different depending on which type of phone you have.
It turns out that Android and Apple users are being given different prices for the exact same items in a particular app.
The woman, who is named Pooja Chhabda and is based in India, was shocked when she uncovered the differences in the grocery app Zepto.
Taking to Instagram, she uploaded a video which showed how the prices of items differed between devices. In the clip, she adds: “I thought it’s fake but it’s actually real.”
Along with the footage, she tagged the app’s social media account and wrote: “Why are you doing this?”
In the video, Chhabda showed how 500 grams of grapes costs Android users 65 Indian rupees ($0.75) but if you purchase them on an iPhone, it’ll set you back 146 rupees ($1.69).
The same issue happens when buying a bell pepper, which costs 37 Indian rupees ($0.43) on an Android device but is priced as 69 Indian rupees ($0.80) on an iPhone.
Viewers of the footage were shocked to see the differences, with many of them taking to the Instagram comment section to share their reactions.
On social media, one user wrote: “I think the difference in price is only for fresh vegetables and fruits. On MRP items I don’t see any difference.”

The woman revealed the price differences (Instagram/@pc_pooja.chhabda)
Another offered a plausible explanation, adding: “The prices affect different accounts, probably the one on Android is a new account or have never ordered recently, that gives some over and above normal offers to order something. I guess on the iphone, the account holder must be ordering recently.”
This isn’t the first time that smartphone apps have been accused of having differing prices for various devices.
Zepto has previously been accused of inflating prices on its app for users with a phone that is worth more than 30,000 Indian rupees ($347).
A similar problem has also been raised with Uber, where one user claimed that the firm was charging different amounts depending on what device the user had.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the user wrote: “Same pickup point, destination & time but 2 different phones get 2 different rates. It happens with me as I always get higher rates on my Uber as compared to my daughter’s phone. So most of the time, I request her to book my Uber. Does this happen with you also? What is the hack?”