TikTok remains unavailable on US app stores despite being restored on January 19, 2025, after a 14-hour outage. The app will reportedly stay off app stores until sold to a US buyer, leaving users who deleted it uncertain about how to regain access.
Some netizens on X commented that they couldn't believe people had deleted the app. A netizen (@Juicy112_) wrote,
"Can't believe there were actually people who deleted the app."
Some users were relieved that they had kept the app even after it had been banned.
"I told y’all don’t delete the app smh yall don’t listen," an X user wrote.
"I almost deleted the app, but I quickly changed my mind and left it on my iPhone as if it was my memory. I don't expect it to be back online. Thanks god I’m listening to myself," another X user wrote.
One user jokingly said they would sell their phone with the app, while another compared the app to the viral game Flappy Bird, which was pulled from the app stores by its developer in 2014.
"I’ll sell any one of your my phone for a quintillion hundred thousand gazillion vbux," a netizen on X wrote.
"TikTok just became the next Flappy Bird," another X user wrote.
Some netizens are looking forward to the "bidding war" TikTok might start in the future.
"It's high time for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer and resolve this issue. Users deserve clarity and access without disruptions. Let's hope this gets settled soon for everyone involved." a netizen wrote.
"Given the current political dance, TikTok's absence from the App Store might just be the push it needs to find an American suitor. Let's see if this ban sparks a bidding war or just more legal duets and stitches," a user on X wrote.
Who will buy TikTok: Multiple bidders plan to buy the social media app
Since the announcement of TikTok's potential ban without a sale to a US buyer, several parties have expressed interest in purchasing the app. On January 13, 2025, YouTuber Mr. Beast tweeted about buying TikTok, prompting many billionaires to approach him with partnership offers.
According to The Guardian on January 22, Mr. Beast and tech entrepreneur Jesse Tinsley, founder of employer.com, submitted a joint offer through US law firm Paul Hastings. The offer amount remains undisclosed.
Investor Kevin O'Leary, who is famous for appearing in the show Shark Tank, told Fox News's America's Newsroom on January 13 that he is planning to buy the app for $20 million with billionaire Frank McCourt.
During a press conference on January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump was asked if he was open to Elon Musk buying the app. In response, Trump said he was open to it.
He also shared he wanted Musk or Larry Ellison, the co-founder and ex-CEO of Oracle, to buy TikTok. He suggested the buyer could give half of it to the US government, and then the buyer would be given the permit. Trump said,
"I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes. I’d like Larry to buy it, too. What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it and give half to the United States of America, and we’ll give you the permit."
According to CNBC's January 18, 2025 report, the artificial intelligence company Perplexity AI submitted a bid on the same day. The bid amount is unknown.
Time will tell what the social media app's future holds and whether ByteDance, its parent company, will sell it to a US buyer.
