TikTok is no longer available in the United States—at least not yet. But it’s not the only app owned by ByteDance that’s blocked by US-based users.
Just before the government-mandated deadline of January 19, TikTok blocked access to anyone trying to access the app in the US. “A law banning TikTok has been passed in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use the TikTok app right now,” reads the block-screen facing US users when they try to load the app. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to restore TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!
Similar notices are coming from other apps owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, which is based in China and is at the center of the controversy over the popular video app, at least until Saturday, which has 170 million users in the US. Video editing app CapCut, photo and video sharing app Lemon8, and others are now going dark in the US.
A federal law passed last year bans apps owned by ByteDance from operating in the US on national security grounds. In response to Chinese laws requiring Chinese companies to hand over their data to the Chinese government and intelligence agencies, the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) requires ByteDance to sell TikTok and its other apps to a non-U.S. China. on Sunday.
That sale never happened. As a result, TikTok began blocking US users on Saturday, January 18, before the midnight deadline. Because PAFACA bans all apps used by ByteDance, not just TikTok, users of its thousands of other apps face the same restrictions.
PAFACA does not require ByteDance to ban US users of its apps. Instead, it prohibits any US company from providing any service to “distribute, maintain or update” applications owned by ByteDance. As a result, many of these apps are no longer available in the Apple and Google stores. That could soon change after Donald Trump took office on Monday, however, with the US president-elect signaling that he plans to extend the deadline to sell TikTok by 90 days. Yes, it’s all very confusing.
For now, here’s a summary of all the apps that US users can no longer access due to the US ban on ByteDance-owned apps.
TikTok, TikTok Studio, TikTok Shop Seller, TikTok Lite
Not only TikTok, but other apps owned by ByteDance that serve the TikTok ecosystem are also not available along with the main app. These include TikTok Studio (for creators to manage content and check stats), TikTok Shop (for ecommerce sellers in the app to manage their business activities), and TikTok Lite (a smaller and faster version of the original app available only for other things. countries).
CapCut
CapCut is a free video editing tool, designed specifically for videos that can be uploaded to TikTok. It is usually the app of choice for non-learning creators, due to its functional features. Some creators also use CapCut to produce videos first before uploading them to platforms other than TikTok.
Lemon8
ByteDance released Lemon8 in February 2023 as a photo-based social media app. It is known as RedNote, a social media app that is successful in China and has become the site of many TikTok users who have been deported this week. Some TikTok users had also chosen to migrate to Lemon8, but the app is also offline.
Gauth
With Gauth, students can take pictures of their homework, and the app will use artificial intelligence to understand the problem and provide step-by-step solutions. It also has other features that help students be more productive while studying. According to the app’s closing announcement this weekend, it “has helped 300 million users with billions of questions.”
Hypic
Hypic, launched in 2022, is a photo editing tool that specializes in AI productivity tools. It uses AI to help users improve the quality of a photo or turn a photo into a cartoon.
The Lark
Lark is a social media app similar to Slack. Originally designed for ByteDance’s internal messaging between employees, it has now become one of the most used office communication apps in China, with several million users.
Melolo, Fizzo, MyTopia Books
Poligon, the Singaporean subsidiary of ByteDance, publishes several apps that allow users to watch short live dramas (Melolo) or read fantasy novels online (Fizzo and MyTopia Books). MyTopia Books is the only one of those apps that didn’t end support for US-based users, and somehow it’s still available on the US Apple App Store.
Tokopedia
Tokopedia is one of the largest ecommerce platforms in Indonesia. It was acquired by ByteDance in December 2023 and merged with the TikTok Store operation in the country after the Indonesian government banned the latter, citing “the need to protect small sellers and user data.”
It is no longer available on Apple’s US App Store but is still available on the US Google Play Store as of publication.
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