Tik-Tok became a competitive social platform during the Worldwide pandemic in 2020. If you are not familiar with the platforms origin, it was founded back in September of 2016 according to the release date as stated on the Tik-Tok platform. It's origins dating back to the acquisition of Musically by Byte Dance, Tik-Toks parent company. Byte Dance launched Douyin, a video app for Chinese users and after came the U.S. spinoff, we now know as Tik-Tok according to AP News.
The platform gained popularity following the uprise of users of all ages, nationalities, income levels, and walks of life. The app became one of the most used social platforms in the United States as of 2020 and has remained a strong competitor.
According to AP News, in 2020 President Trump issued an executive order banning American companies from doing business with ByteDance or ByteDance subsidiaries which began the uphill legal battle between ByteDance and the United States government.
For the past five years (and counting) the future of Tik-Tok in the United States has remained uncertain as rules and regulations continue to be put in place by the United States government. The most recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court upheld a law that could potentially lead to a Tik-Tok ban.
History was made on January 19, 2025 as millions of Tik-Tok users (including us!) were no longer able to refresh their feed or update the app. Users were greeted when opening the app, with a message communicating the state of the app in the United States (see image below).
Following the ban of the app, President Trump's administration worked with the ByteDance team to allow current users to re-access the app. However, potential new and existing users who deleted the app (until further update) are no longer able to download Tik-Tok through the Apple and Google app store. Users who search for the app, are made aware through a shared communication in the app store (see below).
As the future of Tik-Tok remains uncertain, thousands of businesses and creators may continue to be impacted with the looming potential ban. We will keep you updated, as this story evolves.
A note from the team: We have loved our time growing our Tik-Tok community, and thank everyone who has formed a part of it. As the future of Tik-Tok remains uncertain, we encourage you to follow us across our other social channels.
