TikTok on Thursday returned to the US app stores of Apple and Google as President Donald Trump delayed a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app and assured the tech giants they would not be fined for distributing it.
Recall that the short video app used by nearly half of all Americans went dark briefly last month, before a law took effect on January 19 that requires its Chinese owner, ByteDance either to sell it on national security grounds or face a ban.
US President, the following day, signed an executive order seeking to delay the enforcement of the ban by 75 days, allowing it to continue its operations in the U.S. temporarily.
Although TikTok resumed service after Trump’s assurances, Google and Apple, kept the app removed from their US app stores.
Meanwhile, the short video app, the second-most downloaded app in the US last year, said on Thursday that its latest app was now available for download.
Analysts said that the delay could have been because Google and Apple were awaiting assurances that they would not be prosecuted for hosting or distributing the app.
Trump’s order said the companies, which run mobile application stores or digital marketplaces where users can browse, download and update apps, would not face penalties for keeping the TikTok app up and running.
According to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, TikTok had more than 52 million downloads in 2024.
The Sensor Tower said about 52% of its total downloads were from Apple App Store, while 48% were from Google Play in the U.S. last year.