On Saturday night, TikTok became inaccessible for millions of people in the United States, following a Supreme Court decision that upheld a law effectively banning the app.

The app, which is owned by ByteDance, a company based in Beijing, had around 170 million users in the U.S. prior to the ban. The law was passed by Congress last year, citing serious national security concerns regarding the app.

The future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain as lawmakers and investors express interest in restoring the platform. Here’s what we currently know.

Why Was TikTok Banned?

Concerns over national security led to worries that Beijing could manipulate TikTok to influence American public opinion and gather sensitive information about users. Consequently, a law mandated a ban on TikTok unless it sold its U.S. operations.

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld this ban, leaving TikTok with no legal recourse.

President-elect Donald Trump mentioned to NBC News that he may implement a 90-day pause once he takes office.

If a workaround is identified or if TikTok sells off its U.S. business, access to the app could be reinstated for American users.

Chinese officials have hinted at the possibility of allowing billionaire Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and SpaceX, to invest in or take over TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Did CapCut and Lemon8 Get Banned Too?

Users are now receiving messages from TikTok’s app and website stating that the service is “no longer available” in the U.S., reassuring them to “stay tuned!”

Additionally, both Lemon8, a lifestyle-focused TikTok alternative, and CapCut, a video editing app, displayed similar warnings after being made unavailable on Saturday night. Both are also owned by ByteDance.

How Can You Bypass the U.S. TikTok Ban?

In search of alternatives to access TikTok, many users turned to other social media platforms for solutions.

While some tried using VPNs (virtual private networks) to conceal their IP addresses and shift their internet traffic through different locations, these attempts largely failed.

VPNs are typically used in regions where certain apps are blocked, such as in Iran.

Reports from Reuters indicate that one popular VPN service, NordVPN, was “experiencing temporary technical difficulties.”

Internet searches for “VPN” surged just after TikTok cut off U.S. access, according to Google Trends.

“I had no luck with a VPN. I tried accessing from both Australia and the UK,” commented one user on Reddit. “I’m currently outside the U.S. and it still doesn’t work for me,” noted another.
Other options like using the Tor browser, which allows for anonymous internet use by masking the user’s location, also failed to provide access.

Will TikTok Return?

TikTok expressed hope to its users on Saturday, stating: “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”

The legislation banning the app requires it to divest its U.S. operations to continue functioning in the country. Recently, there has been speculation regarding potential investors, including Elon Musk, “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, and former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

What Are Some Alternatives to TikTok?

YouTube Shorts, operated by Alphabet, the parent company of Google, provides options for both short videos under one minute and longer formats for videos lasting up to three minutes.

Meta has offered users Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels, with a video recording and editing time of up to 90 seconds.

A new Chinese app, RedNote, resembling Pinterest in layout, has gained popularity recently and reached the top of the Apple App Store’s free apps list as of Saturday.

The short-form video app Clapper is also among the top free apps on the Apple App Store, while Triller, another similar app, ranks lower on the list.