TikTok has stopped working in the United States and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores shortly before a federal ban on the Chinese-owned short-video app was due to take effect.
The company’s app was removed on Saturday evening from prominent app stores, including the ones operated by Apple and Google, while its website told users that the short-form video platform was no longer available.
When users opened the TikTok app on Saturday, they encountered a pop-up message that said, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” and prevented them from scrolling through videos.
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message said. “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,” the notice continued, in a reference to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to “save” the platform. The company told its users to stay tuned.
Before that announcement went out, TikTok had said in another message to users that its service would be “temporarily unavailable” and told them its working to restore its U.S. service “as soon as possible.” But how long the platform will remain dark is unclear.
